Les laveuses - Essoyes

This is the fifth stop on the Renois route in Essoyes.

On the banks of the Ource there is an easel on a lawn with the work "Les laveuses" by Renoir from 1888.

Who said "Renoir's whites are like rivers"? Renoir is not unfamiliar with the importance of water. It flows through his most famous paintings, such as Déjeuner des canotiers. The generous curves of his models also inspired the bathers on the Seine.

Already well established in Essoyes, Auguste Renoir crisscrossed the village and surrounding areas in search of models or landscapes to paint. Perhaps he followed a washerwoman who came to rinse her laundry in the Ource? Still, he appreciated the composition and decided to set up his easel there.

To be clear, if the washerwomen, including his wife Aline Charigot , accompanied by his son Pierre posed in the summer, the painting was finished in the winter. In response to a letter from Berthe Morisot and Eugène Manet who invited him in the afternoon, he warns them that he will be late because he has to finish a painting with washerwomen by the river.

In addition to its cultural significance, this is also an ideal place to have a picnic in the cool shade of the trees, sitting on a bench or on the grass. The only sound that disturbs the peace is the swirling of the water.

Willem Vandenameele