Young Girl Knitting (Jeune fille tricotant)

Description

Painted during Pissarro’s tenure in Pontoise (1872–1884), "Young Woman Knitting" remained in the artist’s private collection until his death, at which point it passed into the hands of his son, Emile Paul Pissarro. "Young Woman Knitting" is a paramount example of the domestic interior scenes featuring women that were popular among late nineteenth-century French painters. Such images functioned to confirm visually the belief that, while the proper sphere of a man’s life was public, a woman’s role in society could only be played out in the private sphere of the home.
The Japanese fan in the background speaks to Pissarro’s interest in Japanese art and, more generally, to the widespread preoccupation among European artists of this period with "Oriental" (non-European) art. Alfred Steven’s "Hide-and-Seek (Cache-Cache)", is another object in the collection that provides evidence of this prominent cultural and artistic trend.