Camille Pissarro | La charcutiére, 1883

Like 'The Little Country Maid', this painting was executed while the artist lived near Pontoise, north-west of Paris.

During the 1880s he became interested in painting rural market scenes, several of which were based on the markets at Pontoise and its neighbouring villages.

Such subjects allowed Pissarro to combine the study of the human figure with depictions of outdoor scenes of everyday rural life.

Although he wrote to his son Lucien that he wished the painting to have a 'certain naive freshness', hence the light and informal brushstrokes, the central figure of the 'charcutière' was painted from the model and the pose carefully studied.

Camille Pissarro | La charcutiére, 1883 | Tate Gallery

Pissarro first became interested in scenes of rural markets in 1881, while living at Pontoise.

Then on 20 February 1883 he wrote to his son Lucien from Osny, near Pontoise:

'I do not budge from here, I work as much as I can on the landscapes.

I have already begun and am at work on my picture of The Market which I have changed completely'.

On 22 July 1883, he added:

'I haven't done much work outdoors this season, the weather was unfavourable, and I am obsessed with a desire to paint figures which are difficult to compose with.

I have made some small sketches; when I have revolved the problem in my mind, I shall get to work.

I had Nini pose as a butcher's girl at the Place du Grand Martoy; the painting will have, I hope, a certain naive freshness. The background, that's the difficulty'.

X-ray photographs confirm that some changes were made in the composition.

The woman on the right has been completely repainted and was originally in profile bending over to the left in an attitude which echoed that of the central figure.

The only other marked difference, however, is that the foreground figure had an older head: this was perhaps painted from Mme Pissarro, the artist's wife.

As Pissarro said, the model for the final figure was his niece Nini (Mlle Eugénie Estruc), of whom he also painted several portraits.

The background was probably based mainly on studies of the market at Pontoise. | Tate Gallery

Camille Pissarro | The Little Country Maid, 1882 | Tate Gallery

Come "La piccola contadina", questo dipinto fu eseguito mentre l'artista viveva vicino a Pontoise, a nord-ovest di Parigi.

Durante gli anni '80 dell'Ottocento si interessò alla pittura di scene di mercato rurali, molte delle quali erano basate sui mercati di Pontoise e dei villaggi limitrofi.

Tali soggetti consentirono a Pissarro di combinare lo studio della figura umana con raffigurazioni di scene all'aperto della vita quotidiana rurale.

Sebbene avesse scritto al figlio Lucien che desiderava che il dipinto avesse una "certa freschezza ingenua", da cui le pennellate leggere ed informali, la figura centrale della "charcutière" fu dipinta dal modello e la posa fu studiata attentamente.

Pissarro cominciò ad interessarsi per la prima volta alle scene dei mercati rurali nel 1881, mentre viveva a Pontoise.

Poi il 20 febbraio 1883 scrisse al figlio Lucien da Osny, vicino a Pontoise: "Non mi muovo da qui, lavoro il più possibile sui paesaggi.

Ho già iniziato e sto lavorando al mio quadro del Mercato che ho completamente cambiato".

Il 22 luglio 1883 aggiunse:

"Non ho lavorato molto all'aperto questa stagione, il tempo era sfavorevole e sono ossessionato dal desiderio di dipingere figure con cui è difficile comporre.

Ho fatto alcuni piccoli schizzi; quando avrò riflettuto sul problema nella mia mente, mi metterò al lavoro.

Ho fatto posare Nini come una macellaia in Place du Grand Martoy; il dipinto avrà, spero, una certa freschezza ingenua. Lo sfondo, questa è la difficoltà". | Tate Gallery