OPITZ, Georg Emanuel
(b. 1775, Praha, d. 1841, Leipzig)

Street Scene

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Watercolour, 320 x 243 mm
British Museum, London

This watercolour depicts a street scene with firewood and poultry sellers; two ladies wearing high bonnets buying goods, two children in front, a clergyman and soldier in the crowd behind. The main focus is on the foreground, where a few figures interact; these are painted in strong bold colours which draw the eye. Behind the simple foreground, genre scene figures mill about but they are faintly depicted and do not distract from the central subject.