Jean-François Millet

The artist's studio stamp (L.1460);
Henri Rouart, Paris,
his sale, Paris, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, 16-18 December 1912, lot 246 (with incorrect dimensions),
where acquired by the Lerolle Collection;
Private Collection,
sale, Monaco, Sotheby's, 20 June 1987, lot 438,
where acquired by the present owner

Hinged to mount at upper margin. Sheet has slightly discolored. Some brown staining along the right margin. Black chalk still strong and overall image still powerful. Sold in a wooden and gilded frame.
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Probably drawn in the 1850s, during Millet’s time in Barbizon, the present sheet depicts a seated peasant in a landscape.  Millet is celebrated for his portrayals of peasants in the fields, but too often his images are mistaken for idealised genre scenes; in fact, Millet’s observations of rural life are far more about the strenuous labours of the peasants whose plight is in the forefront of his compositions.  In this drawing, Millet’s peasant sits in the fields with his head bowed, probably resting, after working the land.  The mood is reflective and quiet as he sits on the earth that is both the origin of his fatigue and the provider of his meagre living.

Drawings played a prominent role in Millet’s career as an artist and in fact during his early years in Barbizon he sold relatively few paintings.  Some of his clients at the time were men of modest means and they could only afford to buy his drawings.  Later when he had more of an opportunity to sell his oils he often chose and treated subjects he had previously depicted in his drawings.

Although no direct link can be made between this drawing and any of Millet's paintings, we do find a similar image of a labourer resting amongst the vines in his pastel, The Vineyard Worker, of 1869-70, now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.¹

The present drawing, both powerful and contemplative, embodies the reality of rural life that Millet so carefully observed and ultimately sought to comprehend through this art.

¹ Jean François-Millet, exhib. cat., London, Hayward Gallery, 1976, no. 105