Pépé, a nick name and short for grandpa in French, was the father of my mother’s landlord when she lived in Montauroux. See the biography for details about why she left there a little abruptly and the reason she held onto the portrait, much like the unfinished painting of him, called The Farmer.

The portrait is a fine example of using conté crayon on grey paper. The grey paper fills in the mid tones with the black conté crayon working for the structure and shadows while the white conté is lightly added to provide highlights and shape. This picture was displayed for many years in her little gallery as a prime example of her quick portrait sketch technique.