''The Shrimp Girl'' is a painting by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

artist

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

. It was painted around 1740–1745, and is held by the National Gallery, London. The painting, a relatively late work by Hogarth, is one of several in which he experimented with a loose, almost

impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...

style comparable to the work of Fragonard. In its subject matter, it resembles the prints of hawkers and traders popular in Hogarth's day. The painting depicts a woman selling shellfish on the streets of London, typically a job for the wives and daughters of fishmongers who owned stalls in markets such as

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

. The subject balances a large basket on her head, bearing shrimps and mussels, together with a half-pint pewter pot as a measure. Its size suggests that it was intended as a portrait, rather than a sketch for a larger work. It is not strictly finished and was still in Hogarth's estate after his death. His widow Jane was said to have told visitors on showing the picture to them: "They say he could not paint flesh. There is flesh and blood for you."The Shrimp Girl: about 1740–5, William Hogarth
National Gallery, London, UK. It was only sold after his wife's death in 1789, and first received its title ''The Shrimp Girl'' in a Christie's sale catalogue.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrimp Girl, The Paintings by William Hogarth Collections of the National Gallery, London 1745 paintings Paintings of women