The Washerwoman (A Woman Washing Clothes in a Tub)

This is one of several paintings in the possession of Stanisław August which came from the Johan Aegidiusz van
der Marck (1707–72) collection. Bought at the posthumous sale of this
collection in 1773 in Amsterdam by the art dealer, Yver, they ended up
in Warsaw, probably in late 1774. It is one of several small genre scenes with single figures of
young women (mainly maids) engaged in their daily work, in a domestic
setting, which Metsu painted in the years 1656–57. Two of them—the
Łazienki Washerwoman and A Woman Scouring a Pan (location unknown) are depicted against the stone arch of a window niche. Metsu borrowed this format—a so-called nisstuck or vensternis—from
Gerard Dou. The figures are shown knee-length (and not half-length as
in Dou), close-up, and the background is somewhat undefined, treated
rather perfunctorily—this was, in turn, inspired by the art of Gerard
ter Borch. Metsu often imitated the style and borrowed motifs from the
works of other genre painters, however, as Waiboer pointed out, the
traditional themes of well-established iconography he altered and
interpreted anew. He also introduced to Dutch painting subjects
previously unknown, The Washerwoman being such an
example—perhaps the earliest depiction of a woman doing the laundry in
Dutch art (Waiboer 2012, p. 49 [A.E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu. Life and
Work. A catalogue raisonné, New Haven 2012]). The subject of the
painting is an exaltation of domestic life, a common feature in this
type of painting since the mid-17th century: a woman attending to her
daily chores personifies the highest virtue of such life.

Stanisław August purchased The Washerwoman together with The Smoker (An Old Man Holding a Pipe and a Jug),
which was put up at the van der Marck sale (under no. 179) as its
pendant, and also sold to Yver (no. 55 in the catalogue of the Stanisław
August collection), now the property of the National Museum in Warsaw
(inv. no. MOb.492,). [See D. Juszczak, H. Małachowicz, The Stanisław August Collection of Paintings at the Royal Łazienki. Catalogue, Royal Łazienki Museum, Warsaw 2016, no. 73, pp. 277–278.]