François Bonvin (Vaugirard 1817-1887 Saint-Germain-en-Laye)

During the 1850s, after his studies at the École de dessin in Paris, François Bonvin became interested in the representation of the everyday life of peasants, often depicting isolated figures. Two sheets also showing a woman knitting or spinning wool and dressed in the costume of Britany, datable between 1853 and 1855, are at the Musée Cantini in Marseille (inv. 168), and the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh (inv. D 4947). They were prompted by the artist’s trip to Britany in the summer of 1853.