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Drying Clothes by Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant
Drying Clothes
Drying Clothes by Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant
Drying Clothes by Jean Joseph Benjamin Constant

Drying Clothes

Artist (Paris, France, 1845 - 1902)
Datec. 1880
Mediumoil on panel
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: Height: 50.8 cm, Width: 40.5 cm
Frame: Height: 8.2 cm, Width: 68.3 cm
AcquisitionPresented in 1910 by Sir James Murray.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG003252
About MeConstant was a leading painter of Oriental themes and a teacher of French academic painting. In 1872 he sojourned in North Africa for two years, where he was fascinated by the azure skies, colourful costumes and unusual beauty of the Moroccan people.

Mysterious harem women and dramatic quasi-historical subjects were the mainstay of Constant's output. 'Drying Clothes' is unusual in that it depicts an everyday scene of domestic work, the subject of which is a lowly woman. Her direct gaze may be a reflection of changing social perceptions in this period, whereby peasants were portrayed as proud and honest folk.

Constant was a brilliant colourist and the intoxicating harmony of soft, warm tones create a seductive poem of exotic languor which even today can charm the onlooker into a dream of Eastern promise.


More About Me
Constant was a French painter who spent years in North Africa, fascinated by the brilliant skies and colourful dress of the local people