Half-length Sketch of a Laundress and a Sketch Man Wielding a Barge Pole

The curious small sketch drawn along the right edge of the sheet when turned 90 degrees counterclockwise is likely for a figure pushing a pole, perhaps used to dredge sand from a deeper part of the river. If observed from life, it suggests the female figure at the center of the sheet, whose body leans forward as she pulls an undescribed burden, could be a laundress whose work also placed her along the riverbanks. A drawing in the Louvre which depicts a man on a boat wielding a pole in a similar pose, along with two studies of women washing and carrying laundry, suggests the connection between these two activities (RF 5803).
The small figure may represent a peasant handling a boat (cf. Louvre, Inv. no. FR5803).