Figure Study of the Farmer Florian Killian.

This 1872 figure study by Eilif Peterssen of a farmer named Florian Killian was made during his studies in Munich, where he encountered the Bavarian peasant subjects that many German and foreign painters explored in the region surrounding the city. Studies of local types — farmers, craftsmen, old women, children — formed an important part of academic training, combining the study of the clothed figure with observation of character types outside the conventional studio model. Peterssen's study of Killian, preserved at Oslo's National Museum, documents a specific individual encountered during his German training and represents his engagement with Munich's tradition of rustic genre painting.

The figure study shows Peterssen working with focused directness, rendering the farmer's physical type and character with concentrated observation. The handling is economical — sufficient paint to establish the form and character without elaboration beyond what the study purpose requires.