Untitled
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Gaston La Touche
Gaston La Touche, or de La Touche, was a French painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor.
See the richer artist page1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Untitled is a 1879 by Gaston La Touche, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a dim room where a woman in a white apron bends over a steaming washtub, her face hidden by shadow. This painting pulls a scene straight from Émile Zola’s novel *L’Assommoir*, the story of a laundress named Gervaise. The artist worked with Zola to get the details right—right down to the way the light falls on the wet fabric. To see how other artists painted everyday French workers, look up subject: france.
Although his work changed throughout his career, early on Gaston de Latouche belonged loosely to the Impressionist circle through his association with Édouard Manet. Latouche explored subjects—such as that seen here—taken from the lives of working-class Parisians. This print represents a scene from naturalist author Émile Zola’s novel L’Assommoir , which detailed the rise and fall of a laundress named Gervaise. Latouche is said to have collaborated with the author on the imagery and exhibited the entire series at the public Paris Salon in 1879.
Gaston de LaTouche completely changed the subjects and style of his work around 1890 and destroyed much of his early work.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Gaston La Touche, or de La Touche, was a French painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
