Woman Ironing

This is the last in a series of women ironing which Degas had started in the early 1870s. Degas’s laundress pictures paralleled his more famous ballet dancer series. Degas was interested in studying the precise movements of women at work. He explores their postures, the patterns and rhythms of their work. The subjects Degas chose were sometimes considered vulgar. Due to the nature of their work and their domestic visits, laundresses were sometimes perceived as sex workers.