Karl Girardet

KARL GIRARDET (Switzerland, 1813- Versailles, 1871).
"Laundresses".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 28 x 47 cm; 37 x 55,5 cm (frame).

The washerwomen appear very frequently in the history of art for a mixture of social, symbolic and practical reasons. It is no coincidence: they were very visible figures in everyday life and loaded with meaning. First, they were omnipresent in everyday life. Before the washing machine, washing clothes was hard, public and constant work. It was done in rivers, fountains or communal washing places, so artists -especially from the 17th century onwards- easily saw them. Painting washerwomen was, in a way, painting real life. Moreover, they fit perfectly into the interest in the working classes. In the 19th century, with realism and then impressionism, many artists (such as Daumier, Degas or even Picasso in his early days) became interested in depicting ordinary people. Washerwomen symbolized physical effort, poverty and dignity, all in one figure.

Karl Girardet was a Swiss painter, illustrator and engraver who spent most of his career in Paris, where he was integrated into the artistic environment of the 19th century and was especially noted for his illustrations for books and newspapers; Belonging to a family of artists, he worked in a style halfway between romanticism and realism, dealing with themes such as historical scenes, landscapes, episodes of everyday life and exotic motifs, and although today he is not a well-known figure, he was relevant in his time for his contribution to mass visual culture through the illustrated press, helping to disseminate images and stories in an era before widespread photography.