Artwork
The Weaver's Cottage
The Weaver's Cottage is a pastel drawing by the Impressionist artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. It dates from 1903 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left in black pastel: L'Hermitte
About this work
Overview
The Weaver’s Cottage is a drawing executed around 1903 by French artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. Rendered on tan paper that has been mounted on canvas and stretched over a wooden frame, the work combines pastel, conté crayon, and charcoal. The composition presents a modest rural dwelling, reflecting Lhermitte’s interest in everyday French life.
Technique & Style
Lhermitte employs a mixed-media approach, layering soft pastel tones with the denser marks of conté crayon and charcoal. The tan paper provides a warm ground that unifies the varied pigments, while the mounting on canvas adds structural stability. The drawing’s delicate modeling and subtle tonal shifts convey a quiet realism characteristic of the artist’s late‑period work.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1903, The Weaver’s Cottage belongs to the later phase of Lhermitte’s career, when he increasingly explored drawing as a primary medium. The piece has remained in private collections before entering its present institutional setting, where it is displayed as part of a broader survey of early‑20th‑century French genre drawing.
Artist & collection
