Two Young Peasant Women

Two Young Peasant Women is an artwork by the Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. He began to paint this piece in the summer of 1891, and it was completed in mid-January 1892. It was ready in time for a major exhibition of his work that was organised by his art dealer, Joseph Durand-Ruel.

Pissarro exhibited approximately 50 pieces at this exhibition, most of which were sold at the show. However, he decided to keep Two Young Peasant Women for himself. The setting for this painting is an open field that was close to Pissarro's home in Éragny. It depicts two young peasant women who are taking a break from working in the field. The two women dominate the piece as they are positioned at the forefront of the painting. In the bottom left quarter of the painting, the first woman is crouched on the floor with her head rested in her hand. She is looking thoughtfully towards her co-worker and her expression indicates that she is tired.

The second woman is standing but leaning forward and she is positioned to the right of the painting. She is holding a wooden farming tool in one hand and is resting the other hand on her thigh to steady herself. This woman is also wearing some form of fabric headpiece to protect herself from the sun. Both women are wearing clothes that are typical of female farm workers at that time. Behind the women, the rest of the painting depicts the agricultural land around them. To the left and rear of the piece are rows of trees. To the forefront of the picture is the dirt track surrounding the field, and this is where the two women have chosen to enjoy their rest.

Beyond the two women, there is an area of the field that has rows of crops that the two peasant women were probably tending before they stopped for a rest. There are also large, grassy pastures to the side and rear of the crops. Two Young Peasant Women is a large painting in the Impressionist style for which Pissarro is best known and it was created using oil on canvas. Most of the painting is in pastel shades, although some bolder colours are used at some points in the artwork. It is believed that Pissarro chose the subject of this painting as he was sympathetic to anarchist ideals. France was going through a period of rapid industrialisation and this was posing a threat to the agrarian society and their values. These values were something that Pissarro wanted to preserve. This painting is now on display at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York.