Artwork
And She Was a Witch
And She Was a Witch is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist George Fuller. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 87.8.7
- Credit line
- Gift of George I. Seney, 1887
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as a religious genre piece, the artwork combines figurative representation with naturalistic elements.
Executed in 1880, George Fuller's work is an oil painting on canvas support. The composition measures 76.2 by 101.6 centimeters and depicts a female figure situated within a landscape dominated by trees. Classified as a religious genre piece, the artwork combines figurative representation with naturalistic elements.
The application of oil paint allows for the rendering of the woman and her surrounding environment, creating a unified scene that merges human presence with the outdoors. The physical structure relies on traditional stretched canvas, providing a durable ground for the pigment layers that define the forms of the subject and the foliage.
History & Provenance
George Fuller created the oil on canvas painting And She Was a Witch in 1880. The work, which depicts a woman within a landscape setting featuring trees, was completed during this year according to museum records. Following its creation, the painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains housed.
The artwork measures 76.2 by 101.6 centimeters. While the specific circumstances of its commission or intermediate ownership transfers are not detailed in the available records, its inception date and current institutional location are established facts regarding its history.
Overview
George Fuller's oil painting, "And She Was a Witch," completed in 1880, presents a somber scene within the American Wing collection. The canvas depicts a lone woman positioned beneath a gnarled, twisted tree in a misty, indistinct field. Her dark attire and shadowed face contribute to the work's overall contemplative and mysterious atmosphere, set against a pale sky and dim ground, inviting viewers into its quiet narrative.
Subject & Meaning
The painting centers on a solitary female figure, enveloped in a dark dress, standing beneath a dramatically twisted tree. The setting is a hazy, indistinct field under a pale sky, with the woman's face partially obscured by shadow. Her stillness, almost as if she is an extension of the ancient landscape, combined with the evocative title, suggests themes of isolation, nature, and perhaps societal judgment or folklore.
Artist & collection
