Fisher Girl

The girl in the painting is wearing the characteristic dress of Normandy fisherwomen – white blouse and dark skirt. All the painting’s elements set off the main image. In the foreground the basket with fish, clay jug and nets in the sand remind us of a still life composition. In the background, the figures of women at work merge into the outlines of the ships. The overall range of colours in the work is very subtle and close to the pale sparkle of a pearl. The warm skin tone is strengthened by the cool grey sky but the red and blue accents are only lightly sketched in. The uncovered parts of the body have been very carefully modelled but the surface of the water and the ships and figures in the background have been painted with quick and active brush strokes.