Vrouw bij een wastobbe 1895

Auguste Danse created this etching of a woman at a washtub in 1895. The tub itself is a potent symbol. Water, the sustainer of life, is here contained, controlled, and turned to the purpose of purification. One cannot help but think of ancient Roman bathhouses, where water was also a symbol of cleanliness but within a communal, even social context. Yet, here, the woman is alone, performing her ablutions in solitude. The bent posture and the obscured face of the woman also evoke associations with depictions of labor and hardship, but also the domestic sphere. The image resonates with our subconscious understanding of the cyclical nature of cleansing, both physical and spiritual, a recurring theme in the human narrative.