Composition

The Fishwife, Private collection

The Fishwife, Private collection

A pen drawing, The Fishwife [M.0212], about 130 mm diameter, is closely related to the oil.

La Mère Gérard (1), Colby College Museum of Art

The subject, and the treatment of the head, have clear links with several larger portraits: La Mère Gérard (1) [YMSM 026], La Mère Gérard (2) [YMSM 027] and Head of an Old Man Smoking [YMSM 025].

Technique

Despite its small scale, the portrait is painted vigorously, with bright colours, and with very thick impasto, particularly on the face. It was painted in an ellipse within a rectangular card.

Conservation History

It was cleaned in 1950; it is very dark.

Frame

The Fishwife, Private collection

The Fishwife, photograph

It is framed as an oval.