The washerwoman was first shown in Paris in 1734, billed as a work in the style of the Flemish 17th-century artist David Tenier. It was also shown at the 1737 Paris Salon, where Chardin’s style was compared to Rembrandt’s. Chardin was influenced by the old master’s frank descriptions of household chores. He also revisited subjects such as the boy blowing bubbles, but his works are always set in a contemporary French milieu.