The artist turns to an urban theme in the picture Laundresses on the Stairs. The painting’s composition arose out of real experiences that Daumier drew from on the waterfront of the Seine, with its tall stony banks and iron staircases. The artist, living near the Seine River, often observed the laundresses’ work. He magnificently embodied a special beauty in their images in his paintings. The laundresses on the staircase, laden with heavy bundles of laundry, are reminiscent of Michelangelo’s sybils. The laundress figures are handled in a manner that is monumental and generalized. Their poses are precise, and their movements are dynamic. The color scheme of the painting is distinctive in its noble restraint.