Shop / The Poor Fisherman

Fine art

The Poor Fisherman

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

1881 · Oil on canvas · Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Size4:3 ratio

Will it fit? See it to scale above your sofa, bed or mantel

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Poor Fisherman

Lake Keitele

Evening in the Drawing Room

3 × $79 at 32 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898)
Year: 1881
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 155.5 × 192.5 cm
Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Movement: Symbolism

A thin, bearded fisherman stands in a flat-bottomed boat moored at the edge of a grey estuary, hands clasped and head bowed. Behind him on the bank a young woman in a dark dress gathers small yellow flowers, and a baby lies on a red cloth in the grass. The palette is almost colourless: grey water, olive land and a pale sky. Puvis finished it in 1881; critics faulted its lack of realism, but younger Symbolist painters received it with enthusiasm. The French state bought it in 1887, the first of his works to enter a national collection, and it now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Muted grey, olive and pale sand tones make a quiet, contemplative picture for a study, hallway or minimal living room. Hang it near Hammershøi's Interior, Sunlight on the Floor at 24×18 in a black frame.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Symbolism painting
Era: 19th century (1881)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: grand
Rooms: living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×18. Prints at 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×18 above a console or sideboard; 32×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 16×12, 24×18, 32×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or dark wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Poor Fisherman in the public domain?

Yes. Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898) died more than 70 years ago and the work was made and first published more than 95 years ago, so the painting itself is public domain in the US and Europe. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée d'Orsay.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 16×12, 24×18 and 32×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Poor Fisherman painted, and in what medium?

The Poor Fisherman dates from 1881 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 155.5 × 192.5 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 32×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 24×18 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Poor Fisherman we'd choose 24×18. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

The Poor Fisherman (Pierre Puvis de Chavannes) — The Poor Fisherman · Pierre Puvis de Chavannes · 1881. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or dark wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as