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Woman with the Basket or Potato Harvester

Willem Arnold Witsen

1886

ink

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Woman with the Basket or Potato Harvester is a 1886 ink by Willem Arnold Witsen, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Willem Arnold Witsen
When & what style?: 1886 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

The painting depicts a woman with a basket, dressed in a dark dress and apron, bent over as she works in a field. Her dark hair is tied back, and she wears white shoes. The woman is shown from a low angle, with the field and sky behind her. In the distance, a church steeple rises above the horizon, set against a cloudy sky. The overall mood of the painting is one of quiet industry, with the woman focused on her task. The artist's use of etching and aquatint techniques creates a sense of texture and depth in the image. For more on the techniques used in this painting, look up "etching".