洗衣店

A prolific illustrator, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec made this drawing as an illustration for an article about "Summer in Paris" published in Paris illustré, a magazine popular among the middle classes. Although the article singled out the laundress as a charming object of the male gaze on the city streets, the stooping posture and dark-circled eyes of the figure seen here give her a worn, tired appearance that invites comparison with the workhorse behind her. The drawing's sharp receding perspective emphasizes the act of street-level spectatorship and a man's top hat visible in the coach behind the woman alludes to her subservient social and sexual role.