The Wash-House or Le Lavoir was painted in Bargemon, Var where my mother first rented a flat/apartment when she emigrated to the South of France. She was fascinated and somewhat surprised that the local villagers still used the Lavoir to wash all the their clothes even in 1971. The most surprising thing was the water temperature as the water came straight off the mountain and was quite cold all year round. The wash-house consisted of a series large stone basins whereby each one was fed from the overflow of the next basin further up the slope. There was of course, a strict protocol, soap in lowest basin, seen here and then one moved your washing up to the next basin to rinse and so on in progressively cleaner water. The whole series of basins were continuously refreshed with cold clear water from the mountain spring. My mother contributed to the local economy by employing locals who washed clothes as their business instead of attempting to do this herself.

This painting is a refreshing detail view of life rather than her more usual subject of the wider street scenes and landscapes. I think the light watercolor wash used here, lends itself to the bright sun in those parts.

It is interesting to compare this painting with another of the same subject but with a much more vivid rendition.