Who painted Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route)?

Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route) was painted by Camille Pissarro in 1879.

Where can I see Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route)?

Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route) is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route)?

Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route) is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route)

Camille Pissarro , 1879

Woman on the Road (La femme sur la route) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Camille Pissarro. It dates from 1879 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Camille Pissarro’s print *Woman on the Road* (La femme sur la route) was produced in 1879 as an etching combined with aquatint and dry‑point. The work presents a solitary female figure traversing a dirt path, set against a sky rendered in mottled tones of light and shadow. The composition is modest in scale yet conveys a moment of everyday movement.

Subject & Meaning

The image depicts a plainly dressed woman walking alone, her hand holding an unseen object and a small bundle at her side. The isolated figure on an unpaved road suggests themes of rural labor and the anonymity of daily life, reflecting Pissarro’s interest in ordinary people within natural surroundings.

Technique & Style

Pissarro employed a layered approach, beginning with traditional etching lines, then adding aquatint washes to create tonal depth, and finishing with dry‑point incisions that produce a grainy, sketch‑like texture. This combination yields a rough, immediate surface that emphasizes the tactile quality of the ground and the atmospheric sky.

History & Provenance

The print is a posthumous impression, meaning it was pulled from Pissarro’s plates after his death. It remains catalogued as a representative example of his late‑period printmaking, illustrating his continued exploration of rural subjects through the medium of print.