Description:
François Xavier Bricard (1879-1941) was a French painter. He studied under Fernand Cormon, Jules Lefebvre, Tony Robert-Fleury and Jean Tournoux at the Académie Julian in Paris. From 1904 to 1914 and from 1920 to 1940, he exhibited at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français. He was awarded multiple times for his works. In his work he dealt with portraiture, landscape and genre painting.

Description of the painting:
The subject of the work is a teenage girl absorbed in her needlework. The model is shown in waist-up view, sitting in a chair. She is dressed in a white dress with puffed, falling below the elbow sleeves. Her fair face is shown in a semi-profile, slightly tilted. Her head is surrounded by golden curls reaching her shoulders. She holds a needle and a handkerchief in her hands and is working on them. The background is a monochromatic wall in shades of green. The right part of the second plan is occupied by a chest of drawers, on which is a vase with white and yellow flowers.

The composition is kept in a subdued colour scheme. Shades of green and white dominate. The standout colour accent is the bouquet of flowers. The artist placed the source of light behind the vase with flowers, which suggests the shadow thrown by them and the illumination of the face and hair of the model girl. Bricard presents a popular way of spending time at that time. The engagement and concentration of the child on the work is visible. Such sentimental compositions of the artist were very popular among the audience at the beginning of the twentieth century.