Under the Apple Trees

In 1886, Louise Breslau painted this portrait at a moment of personal and artistic uncertainty. She had moved to Paris from Zurich a decade earlier to study at the women’s studios of the Académie Julian, where her teachers quickly recognized her talent. Influenced first by Edgar Degas and later by the naturalism of Jules Breton, Breslau had already achieved success with her portraits. Yet she remained plagued by doubt, writing in 1885 that unless she could prove her worth again, she felt lost.

Determined to challenge herself, Breslau traveled to the countryside and began work on her first large-scale outdoor composition. Painted in the garden of a friend’s studio in Sannois, the work depicts a fellow artist seated outside. Critics at the Paris Salon of 1886 quickly labeled it Impressionist, noting the natural light that casts shifting shadows across the scene—even darkening the model’s face beneath her hat.

The painting proved a turning point. Shown again at the Exposition Universelle, it won Breslau a gold medal. With its life-size portrayal of a woman artist confidently painting outdoors and meeting the viewer’s gaze, the work also makes a quiet but powerful statement about women’s place in the art world—at a time when institutions like the Académie des Beaux-Arts were still closed to them.

P.S. You can explore more works like this in our Women Artists 50 Postcards Set, featuring pioneering women artists from across art history.

P.P.S. Feeling bored at school or work? Time for some art quiz! Can you guess what is missing from these paintings?