Washer Woman
Category: Sculptures
Address
Fresno, CA 93650
Details
La Grande Laveuse (Washer Woman) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and Richard Guino (1890-1973) is located on the Mariposa Mall section of Fulton. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was among the most famous French impressionist painters, and together with his friend Claude Monet, painted some of the most acclaimed works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Limoges, he attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and rose to prominence in the 1870's. His paintings such as Bal du Moulin de la Galette (which sold for $70 million in 1990) are instantly recognizable to even the most novice art lover. However, towards the end of Renoir's life, he was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis, which limited his ability to use a brush. Undeterred, he continued to pursue his artistic vision and turned to sculpture, directing his assistant, the sculptor Richard Guino to work the small terra-cotta clay figure of a crouching washerwoman at his direction. Under Renoir's supervision, Guino sculpted a large-scale plaster version of the subject with subtle variations made in the hands and forearms. The reworked plaster cast was subsequently cast in bronze. The figure personifies Water, an element that Renoir had long associated with women in countless paintings. La Grande Laveuse was initially conceived to be companion to a figure of a male blacksmith forging iron as allegories of Water and Fire. Fresno's La Grande Laveuse is one of only six original bronze castings of this work that exist in the world. The other five can be found at Fontvieille Park, Monaco; the Tate Gallery in London; the Philadelphia Art Museum and Washington University in St. Louis. Fresno's Washer Woman is the only one of the six that visitors are allowed to touch.

Nearby Dining
- Downtown Donut2013 Mariposa Mall (106 feet NE)
- La Bou Downtown1060 Fulton Street (111 feet E)
- Quail State1060 Fulton St (111 feet E)
- La Cocina de Mama2015 Mariposa Mall (125 feet NE)
Nearby Shopping
- Boost Mobile1107 Fulton St (43 feet NW)
- Blue Bird1118 Fulton St (130 feet N)
- Luho Boutique: Siempre Divina Boutique1049 Fulton St (166 feet SE)
- Family Fashions1045 Fulton St (181 feet SE)
Nearby Parking
- City of Fresno Parking Garage #41919 Tulare St (436 feet S)
- Van Ness Courthouse Garage (Garage #8)1077 Van Ness Ave (679 feet E)
- City of Fresno Parking Lot #21279 Broadway St (832 feet NW)
- Van Ness Garage #92020 Merced St (932 feet NW)