Artwork
An Elderly Peasant Woman
An Elderly Peasant Woman is a chalk drawing by the Impressionist artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. It dates from 1878 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Léon Augustin Lhermitte’s drawing An Elderly Peasant Woman, executed around 1878, depicts the aged face of a rural woman in charcoal and black chalk on wove paper. The work measures the subject’s features with a stark, monochrome palette, emphasizing the passage of time through careful tonal contrasts.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait concentrates on the woman’s weathered skin, deep forehead lines, and shadows beneath her eyes, suggesting a life of hard labor. A low‑set dark hat and a heavy shawl frame her shoulders, reinforcing her status as a peasant and underscoring themes of endurance and dignity in the face of aging.
Technique & Style
Lhermitte employed a range of charcoal techniques—including stumping, scraping, erasing, and wetting—to build texture and depth. Soft shading models the facial planes, while scumbling creates the impression of worn paper, allowing the viewer to sense both the subject’s flesh and the material’s tactile qualities.
History & Provenance
Created in the late 1870s, the drawing reflects Lhermitte’s interest in realistic depictions of rural life, a focus that defined much of his oeuvre. The work has remained in private collections before entering public exhibition, though specific ownership details are limited.
Artist & collection
