Jean-François Millet

Sale: Sotheby’s, London, June 23, 1987, lot 28, illustrated

Small stain to paper on both sides as seen in the catalogue image; paper glued down along perimeter to support.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Paysanne donnant à manger à ses enfants is the last of several closely related compositional sketches that led to a painting, La Becquée [The Beakful] (Lille, Musée des Beaux-Arts) of 1859-60 and two pastels.  Like Le jardinage  (lot 80), Paysanne donnant à manger à ses enfants takes Millet’s own family life for its subject; by 1859, he had seven children, three of whom, Emélie, Charles  and Jeanne, may be the nestlings seated on the doorstep and repeated below.  On the verso are two additional drawings for other compositions. One is an early sketch for a scene of two shepherdesses chatting in the fields, and the other is a careful study for the knitting shepherdess in one of Millet’s first Barbizon pastels (Cincinnati Art Museum).  Mixing subjects on one sheet was a common practice for Millet, who would appear to have grabbed the closest paper when an idea or image struck him.