The Laundress c. 1761

Editor: Here we have Jean-Baptiste Greuze's, *The Laundress*. The way she's caught in this everyday task feels really intimate. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It's interesting to consider the social context of labor. Greuze elevates this domestic scene, but how does the artwork engage with the material realities of the laundress’s labor and her social standing? Editor: So, it's not just about aesthetics, but the socio-economic implications of depicting labor? Curator: Precisely. Consider the artist's choices in portraying her clothes and surroundings – what do these details tell us about the labor of laundry? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. It makes me see the painting as more of a statement about class and work. Curator: Indeed, it reveals much about the lives of working-class women in that era.