Woman with a Broom Standing in a Doorway and Other Sketches. Verso: Perspective study with figures.

The image of a woman in a doorway wielding a broom was a common sight in the artist's native Gruchy, where he visited his family's stone farmhouse. In one of his forays combining black conté crayon with pastel in 1863, he depicted his birthplace with a woman emerging from the doorway, sweeping, and a child watching the geese stir (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 17.1495).