Women Washing Clothes at Étretat c. 1890 - 1894

Eugène Boudin made this painting of women washing clothes at Étretat, a coastal town in Normandy, France. Boudin's focus on everyday life connects to broader social and cultural shifts in 19th-century France. The image captures a communal scene of women engaged in the laborious task of laundering clothes on the beach. The muted colors and naturalistic rendering emphasize the working class. Boudin, like other artists of his time, was interested in representing the lives of ordinary people, a departure from the more historical or mythological subjects favored by academic painting. His work, and that of other artists of his time, reflected a growing interest in democratic ideals, the rise of socialist ideas, and a desire to depict the realities of modern life. Art historians consider how this work reflects a broader cultural shift towards realism and a focus on the lives of ordinary people. Studying social histories of labor and gender in 19th-century France can give us a fuller picture.