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Two Women in the Kitchen

Wilhelm Leibl

1896

chalk

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Interior

Dominant colour

Two Women in the Kitchen is a 1896 chalk by Wilhelm Leibl, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Wilhelm Leibl
When & what style?: 1896 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This sketch shows two women in a dim, cluttered kitchen. One woman stands with her back to us, arms crossed, while the other sits at a table, hands resting on her lap. The walls are dark, and the light comes from a small window, casting soft shadows. The lines are loose and quick, almost like a quick sketch. The artist used chalk and smudged it with a tool called stumping to blur edges, giving it a soft, lived-in feel. This was a common way to work in the 1800s for quick studies. Next, look up chiaroscuro to see how light and shadow create depth in drawings.