Attributed to Martin Drölling

Former collection Béatrix de Pourtalès, Countess Roger de Renusson d'Hauteville.

In a simple interior, with a glimpse of a bed and a chimneypiece, a cobbler appears to be reaching his hand out for a few coins as reward for the repair he has just completed to his customer’s shoe, displayed on a stool. In the background, a woman – presumably the cobbler’s wife – is supervising a young child. This charming genre scene, illustrating daily activity and set in a rustic interior, recalls the work of earlier Dutch masters and can thus be compared to the oeuvre of the French painter Martin Drölling (1752–1817). Originally from Alsace, Drölling trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he was able to look widely at works by Teniers, Van Ostade, ter Borch and others.