White women

Dating from the 1930s, the work depicts a group of women performing household duties. The painting belongs to so-called “white pictures.” Pieces from this cycle have a light palette embracing white, light blue, dusty pink and yellow, with soft dark contours. Like other painters, Gottlieb would leave pieces of canvas unpainted in some of his works, in this way obtaining new tones and enriching his palette. In that period, the artist often drew upon the work of Renaissance masters, inscribing human figures in triangular compositions.

This work displays all these properties. The painter positions his sitters within a triangle, the palette is whitened, the contours more prominent or, inversely, delicate, even blurred. The outlines separate the figures from the homogenous light blue background, accentuating their subtle beauty.

The piece depicts three women wearing identical working clothes and headscarves. They are shown while performing their tasks. The artist captures the moment without paying much attention to detail, focussing on the emotional aspect instead. The woman seated above, en face, is looking down at her companions and tying her scarf. The two other women sitting en trois quarts, presented at an angle, concentrate on the vessels they are holding and related tasks.

The slender silhouettes of the workers have a touch of unearthliness to them. The silence and tranquillity they ooze alongside their subtle gestures and gentle gaze render their duties even more important. The artist delicately shapes their features, avoiding strong transitions and start contrasts, in this way making his work appear three-dimensional. The theme of this painting is femaleness and a kind of mysticism glorifying household chores. The subtle colours reflect the message it conveys. The calmness that pervades the depiction can imply fulfilment or acceptance of the unavoidable.