Peasant Woman with a Hoe

In 1871 Claude Émile Schuffenecker began his career as a stockbroker in the same firm as Paul Gauguin. In his spare time, Schuffenecker took drawing classes and started exhibiting at the Salon. Following the stock market crash of 1882, he, like Gauguin, was forced to leave the firm, and he began teaching art. In 1884 he was one of the founders of the Salon des Indépendants and two years later took part in the eighth and last Impressionist exhibition. In 1889 Schuffenecker was primarily responsible for arranging the Café Volpini exhibition, in which he, Émile Bernard, Gauguin, and others displayed their art outside the gates of the Exposition Universelle. Schuffenecker was known for his connections with the Pont-Aven group and the joint development of Cloisonnism with Gauguin and Bernard. This drawing reflects his interest in bold outlines and themes of rural life.