Seated Old Woman Holding a Cane (Vieille femme assise tenant une canne)

François Bonvin searched for models on the streets of Paris and brought them into his studio so he could make careful studies. He instructed them in a variety of poses and carefully rendered their tattered garments. It has been suggested that a young James McNeill Whistler saw this drawing of an old woman leaning wearily on her cane in Bonvin's studio and adapted her pose for the famous painting of his mother.