Woman Ironing by Degas in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2011

Title: A Woman Ironing

Artist: Edgar Degas (French, Paris 1834–1917 Paris)

Date: 1873

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 21 3/8 x 15 1/2 in. (54.3 x 39.4 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929

Object Number: 29.100.46

Much as Degas was fascinated by the movements of dancers, he was also intrigued by the repetitive, specialized gestures made by laundresses as they worked. This painting, the first of three versions of the composition, is distinguished by its dramatic chiaroscuro, with the woman silhouetted against a luminous white backdrop. Purchased by the singer and collector Jean-Baptiste Faure, the canvas was returned so that Degas could rework it. The artist, however, kept the picture and lent it to the 1876 Impressionist exhibition, receiving praise for his "rapidly done silhouettes of laundresses."

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436174