Italian woman with children by the river
Johann Köler , 1862
82.5 × 53.5 cm
oil on canvas
Kumu , Tallinn
Italian woman with children by the river ( Estonian : Itaallanna lastega ojal ) is a 82.5 centimeter high and 53.5 centimeter wide oil-on-canvas painting by the Estonian painter Johann Köler from 1862. It is an example of thereception ofItaly in Northern Europe and is one of the realistic works of Köler, who had turned away from academic painting. He had stayed in Italy in 1858 and 1859, so he knew the country firsthand. The Italian woman with children by the river is part of the collection of the Kumu in Tallinn .
The painting shows a woman in full length standing with her left foot in the river, her right foot is still on the bank. She wears a costume and a necklace. She balances a basket with a small child on top of her head. The woman carries a vessel on her left arm. To her right is a little boy in the water who is only wearing an open jacket. The river takes up only a small section in the foreground. Behind it, a landscape opens up with scattered rocks and vegetation. In the upper left corner of the picture is the only larger tree with its crown protruding over the child in the basket on the woman's head. Overall, Köler's painting is characterized by its warm color palette.
Several comparable motifs can be found in Köler's work from this period. For example the painting Tütarlaps allikal 1858 to 1861, which shows a girl drawing water from a river.