This small painting depicts an atmospheric genre scene with a young woman seated beneath a portico, working with a spindle while two young children play with one another around her. Behind the group we can make out the door leading into the house

The picture was clearly painted from life, as we can tell from the rapid, fresh brushwork and the marks of the tacks that pinned the canvas to the easel.

In this bright and airy scene the artist uses a luminous palette to convey a feeling of immense serenity and joie de vivre.

Ernst Meyer spent part of his life in Rome – in fact he was to die there in 1861 – devoting most of his compositions to scenes of daily life set in the pleasant Roman countryside, portraying women carrying water, fishermen, mothers with their children, excursions into the country and views of villas and palaces.

Ernst Meyer moved to Copenhagen in 1812 and enrolled at the city's Academy of Fine Arts, winning the silver medal in 1815 and again in 1818. He lived in Munich from 1819 to 1824 and then moved to Rome, where he initially remained until 1842, subsequently returning to live in the city from 1852 until his death.  He was buried in the Jewish cemetery.

Thus he effectively spent most of his life in Rome, where he was known and appreciated by both the Danish and the German artist communities. He regularly showed his work at the annual exhibition in Copenhagen, and Thorvaldsen bought several of his pictures. He initially lived in Via di Porta Pinciana at numbers 41 and 37, then at number 3, moving in 1840 to Via del Babuino 39, and finally to Via del Pozzetto 41. His workshop was in Villa Malta.

Meyer also produced fine Italian landscapes, but genre painting was his speciality and it enjoyed widespread popularity.

Many of his drawings are now in the Print Room of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.