Young Peasant Having Her Coffee

Beloved for his Impressionist landscapes, around 1880 Pissarro turned his attention to the human figure, producing Young Peasant Having Her Coffee, 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.