Portrait, Late 19th Century

Oil painting, portrait of an old woman, second half of the 19th century. Dressed in a loose, rustic black coat and wearing a headdress, her face emerges from a dark brown background. Her closed expression, stern and introspective gaze, and assertive posture evoke determination in the face of life's hardships. Her hands are deformed by labor, whether agricultural, manual, or commercial; in these hands, do they hold an account book or a sewing box? Clearly, this evokes a difficult life of effort and duty, confirmed by the transcribed tribute from her family (on the left): "To me, my Mother, who, through her great courage, made us happy." The painting displays great delicacy in the rendering of the skin tone and the headdress.