Young Peasant Having Her Coffee

1879·Black chalk on buff laid paper, laid down on cream wove paper·61.4 × 47.9 cm (24 3/16 × 18 7/8 in.)

<p>Beloved for his Impressionist landscapes, around 1880 Pissarro turned his attention to the human figure, producing <em>Young Peasant Having Her Coffee</em>, a monumental canvas of a humble subject, among other works. Hands and feet have gained notoriety for being the most difficult body parts to draw, and this sheet reveals the artist’s struggle to depict his subject’s hands. The painting was shown with a group of other new figure pictures at the seventh Impressionist exhibition in 1882. Exceedingly rare, this is the largest of the artist’s preparatory drawings.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1879
Medium: Black chalk on buff laid paper, laid down on cream wove paper
Dimensions: 61.4 × 47.9 cm (24 3/16 × 18 7/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Camille Pissarro

Artist

Camille Pissarro

Painting

Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas. His importance resides in his contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Pissarro studied from great forerunners, including Gustave Courbet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. He later studied and worked alongside Georges Seurat and Paul Signac when he took on the Neo-Impressionist style at the age of 54.

Paris, France

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