Jean-François Millet

Galerie Hopkins-Thomas, Paris (1995)

Millet drew these closely observed studies of newly shorn young lambs in preparation for a painting  destined for the Salon of 1853.  The bewildered  animals, still too startled to realize the hobbles on their legs (to prevent them from kicking) have been removed,  clearly captured Millet’s affection.  Although he did not include these sheep in his final composition, he kept the large sheet uncluttered  and even suggested a grassy field around the foreground animal to give the page the power of a considered composition.