Drypoint printed in dark brownish black on cream laid paper, 1889. 149x110 mm; 6x4 3/8 inches, full margins. First state (of 7). One of only 3 known impressions in this state, from a total of approximately only 20 lifetime impressions in all seven states combined. Inscribed "1er Etat no. 2" in pencil, lower left. A superb, richly-inked, proof-like impression with finger prints in the margin and crisp plate edges.
In this first state impression, Pissarro delineated the composition in pure drypoint, scratching his design wih a sharp needle directly onto the metal plate as if drawing. The scene is without the painterly effect of glowing sunlight achieved by the fifth state through different aquatint tones.
The figure of the woman carrying buckets is repeated in several other prints by Pissarro and in this particular composition, where she is seen from behind with the light shining toward the front of the figure, the source is likely Paysannes Causant dans la Cour d'une Ferme, Éragny, oil on canvas, which Pissarro began in 1889 and completed in 1902 (Pissarro/Snollaerts 868). Delteil 85.
