TOFFOLI Louis - Oil on Canvas "Woman with the Pot" - 27.5x16.5cm

Louis Toffoli, "Femme à la potiche": an original oil on canvas

In this small format of rare intensity, Louis Toffoli (1907-1999) captures a female silhouette seen from behind, balancing a potiche on her head. The face is entirely hidden from view: a white cloth, falling from the top of the head to the shoulders, erases all individuality and bestows upon the figure the anonymous dignity characteristic of carriers, peasants, and working women whom the painter ceaselessly celebrated.

A composition of great economy of means

The construction is based on a vertical axis of almost architectural rigor: the wide bowl placed on top, the light veil, then the dress flaring to the ground. The figure stands, hieratic, against a deep wine-red background, worked in dense layers with carmine reflections. Toffoli unfolds a warm harmony, centered around the oranges, vermilions, and yellow ochres of the apron, illuminated by the off-white cloth as a source of light.

The material and color

The generous paste retains the tool's trace; its reliefs catch the light and give the fabric and background a unique vibration. The drawing, outlined with dark lines, simplifies the volumes without impoverishing them: the shoulder, the knot of the belt, the arm bent towards the hip suffice to suggest the walk and the body's tension carrying. Here lies the essence of Toffoli's art: a synthetic figuration, heir to the Italian tradition, where color constructs the form and the everyday subject attains true monumentality, despite the painting's modest dimensions.

The theme of the carrier in Louis Toffoli's work

Born in Trieste and settled in France, Louis Toffoli devoted most of his work to the human figure, particularly women: workers, mothers, or carriers. Nourished by his numerous travels, this repertoire of silhouettes carrying jars, baskets, or potiches became one of the painter's most recognizable motifs. "Femme à la potiche" offers a contemplative and intimate interpretation, ideal for a collector wishing to acquire an original painting by the artist.

Characteristics of the work

• Artist: Louis Toffoli (1907-1999)
• Title: Femme à la potiche
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 27.5 x 16.5 cm
• Date: 1969
• Reference: Louis Toffoli's catalogue raisonné by Jeanine Pélissier, no. 1258
• Signed lower right
• Titled and inventory number on the back
• Original work certified, accompanied by a certificate from Galerie 125