The Wash-House or Le Lavoir was painted in Bargemon, Var, where Christine 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 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 of 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 was only used in the lowest basin, seen here, and then you moved the 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. Christine contributed to the local economy by employing the women who washed clothes as their business, instead of attempting to do this herself.

This painting is a refreshing, detailed 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.