Image: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
View source →Woman Ironing (La Repasseuse)
Pablo Picasso, 1904
Technical Details
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
116.2 × 73 cm (45.7 × 28.7 in)
Style
Expressionism
Decade
1900s
About This Work
A powerful Blue Period canvas depicting a gaunt, exhausted woman bent over an ironing board, her emaciated body a testament to the grinding poverty of working-class Paris. The elongated figure, the angular bones visible beneath the skin, and the cold blue palette create an image of physical and spiritual depletion. The work is one of the most socially engaged paintings of the Blue Period.
Painted in Picasso's studio at the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre, this work reflects his observation of the working poor of Paris. The laundresses and seamstresses who worked in the buildings around his studio provided models for this and other Blue Period works. The painting was purchased by Gertrude Stein's brother Leo Stein in 1906.
Current Location
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
Priceless / Not for sale
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
Keywords
Continue Exploring
Related Artworks
Chosen for shared style, era, medium, subject, or date.
Shop Related Products
If you love this blue period masterpiece, explore these curated books and resources on Amazon.
Picasso: A Biography by John Richardson
Comprehensive biography exploring Picasso's life and artistic evolution
The Cubist Epoch by Douglas Cooper
In-depth analysis of Picasso's Cubist period and innovations
Blue Period Collection Prints
Set of prints featuring Picasso's melancholic Blue Period works
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Each product link is unique to help us track which recommendations resonate most with our visitors.