The fishmonger 

Pasquale Celommi painted this portrait of a young woman, known as ‘The Fishmonger’, during a time of significant change for women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here we see a young woman at the beach, carrying a basket full of fish. In this era, women were often confined to domestic roles, but this image challenges those norms by depicting a woman engaged in commerce, traditionally a male occupation. We might consider her social standing and economic circumstances. Is she working to support herself or her family? Celommi’s choice to portray the woman barefoot on the beach adds a sense of authenticity, grounding her in her labor. Her gaze has a mixture of weariness and resilience. This image serves as a visual assertion of the multifaceted roles women played in society, beyond the constraints of domesticity.