Cottage Interior with Seated Woman

Liebermann was a central figure in the German Impressionist movement. He was influenced by both French and Dutch art. He liked particularly to capture scenes from everyday life. He gave these scenes a spontaneous touch and naturalistic effects of light and atmosphere. This painting was perhaps a sketch made for his larger finished painting 'Old Woman with Cat', made in 1876 (now in the Getty Museum, Malibu, USA). The Getty’s version shows the same old lady holding the black cat in her arms.