Girl Washing Clothes 1755 - 1760

This is ‘Girl Washing Clothes,’ made by Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, its date is unknown. This porcelain sculpture invites us to consider the lives of working-class women, likely in 18th or 19th century France. With the French revolution, a wider range of subjects beyond the aristocracy started to appear in art. The sculpture captures a young woman kneeling to wash clothes, performing labor that was essential yet often unacknowledged. The whiteness of the porcelain might be speaking to notions of purity and labor, as if to ennoble the working class. But there is also a stark contrast between the polished finish of the sculpture and the harsh realities of the working class. The artist elevates this humble subject, prompting viewers to recognize the dignity inherent in labor and question the social hierarchies that often render such work invisible.