Six centuries of artistic creation
1855-1923 Portugal
Malhoa painted this version of "Cuidados de Amor" (Love care) in 1905, at the height of his career. It was a topic for which he made several studies over the following years. The young peasant woman, dressed in the Minho style, occupies the foreground in a backlight play that brings out her melancholy disposition. One of the most interesting aspects of the painting lies in the way Malhoa works the light, mostly concentrated in the depiction of the vegetable garden which virtually takes the whole space of the composition. The short, thick, quick brush strokes in shades of hazy greens and blues, brightened by the blend of white, form a luminous colour swathe that affords a glimpse of the garden and the hot, sun-dried earth soil.
| Oil on canvas, 89 x 78 cm
| FIGUEIRÓ DOS VINHOS. Museum and Arts Center of Figueiró dos Vinhos
