The Gift of the Fishermen

18th or 19th century

after Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater

Associated Names
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater

Artist After, French, 1695 - 1736

This painting depicts a gathering of people in a landscape setting. In the center, a woman in a pale gray dress is sitting, looking at a man in a pale pink suit who is kneeling next to her on the right. More men and women wearing elaborate dresses and suits are gathered on the ground around them, many of them disappearing into shadow on the left. On the right, there are two young girls, one appearing to have objects gathered in her white apron. Behind them, three men with their legs partially submerged in water appear to be pulling something upward by a rope. The people have skin in shades of cream, tan, and light brown. The scenery is dark, mostly painted with shades of brown and dark olive green. The horizon is in the upper third of the composition, showing trees and a tower on a brown cliff in front of a blue-green sky with light gray clouds.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Lewis Einstein

  • Dimensions

    overall: 38.4 x 48.4 cm (15 1/8 x 19 1/16 in.)
    framed: 58.1 x 67.3 cm (22 7/8 x 26 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1954.17.1


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lewis Einstein [1877-1967], Paris; gift 1954 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1967

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences (now Chrysler Museum), Virginia, 1967-1972.

Bibliography

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 100, as by Pater.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968:87, repro., as by Pater.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 260, repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 301, repro.

2009

  • Conisbee, Philip, et al. French Paintings of the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2009: no. 80, 368-370, color repro.

Inscriptions

On stretcher: in pencil, "12 x 7 1/2".

Wikidata ID

Q20177707

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