Artwork
The Weaver's Cottage
The Weaver's Cottage is a pastel drawing by the Impressionist artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. It dates from 1903 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
The Weaver’s Cottage is a drawing executed around 1903 by French artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. Rendered on tan paper that has been mounted on canvas and stretched over a wooden frame, the work combines pastel, conté crayon, and charcoal. The composition presents a modest rural dwelling, reflecting Lhermitte’s interest in everyday French life.
Technique & Style
Lhermitte employs a mixed-media approach, layering soft pastel tones with the denser marks of conté crayon and charcoal. The tan paper provides a warm ground that unifies the varied pigments, while the mounting on canvas adds structural stability. The drawing’s delicate modeling and subtle tonal shifts convey a quiet realism characteristic of the artist’s late‑period work.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1903, The Weaver’s Cottage belongs to the later phase of Lhermitte’s career, when he increasingly explored drawing as a primary medium. The piece has remained in private collections before entering its present institutional setting, where it is displayed as part of a broader survey of early‑20th‑century French genre drawing.
Artist & collection
