Artwork
A Young Girl Preparing Chantarelles
A Young Girl Preparing Chantarelles is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Peter Ilsted. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition represents a moment of simple, domestic routine, capturing the girl's interaction with the natural food source she is processing.
The painting depicts a young girl engaged in the domestic task of preparing chanterelles, specifically identified as Cantharellus cibarius. As a work of genre art and portraiture, the image centers on this quiet, everyday activity rather than a formal sitter's likeness. The subject matter highlights the intersection of daily life and nature, focusing on the careful handling of the mushrooms.
The composition represents a moment of simple, domestic routine, capturing the girl's interaction with the natural food source she is processing.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1896, A Young Girl Preparing Chantarelles is an oil painting on canvas by Peter Ilsted. The work measures 66 cm in height and 51.5 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece functions as a portrait that incorporates elements of genre art, focusing on a young girl engaged in the domestic task of preparing chanterelle mushrooms.
The composition highlights the specific subject matter of the fungi alongside the human figure, characteristic of Ilsted's approach to interior scenes.
History & Provenance
Peter Ilsted executed the oil painting A Young Girl Preparing Chantarelles in 1896. The work was created on canvas and depicts a young girl handling chanterelle mushrooms. The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains located.
Legacy
The painting A Young Girl Preparing Chantarelles by Peter Ilsted, completed in 1892, is recognized as a subtle example of Danish symbolist genre art that quietly influenced later interpretations of domestic scenes and botanical realism. Its delicate handling of light and focus on everyday ritual contributed to renewed scholarly attention to Ilsted’s role in shaping Northern European still-life within portraiture during the late nineteenth century.
The work remains part of the collection at Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is studied both for its technical precision and its quiet narrative depth.
Overview
Created in 1896 by Danish artist Peter Ilsted, this oil painting captures a quiet domestic moment. The work is part of the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst and reflects Ilsted’s interest in everyday interior scenes rendered with an Impressionist sensibility.
Context
Ilsted, better known for his etchings of interior spaces, applied similar compositional concerns to this canvas, focusing on the quiet dignity of ordinary tasks. The work aligns with broader Impressionist interests in light, atmosphere, and the fleeting moments of daily existence.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Peter Ilsted (14 February 1861 – 16 April 1933) was a Danish printmaker and painter. He was most associated with domestic interior scenes.
