Advanced Search 
Shepherdess Knitting, outside the Village of Barbizon
Jean-François Millet (French, 1814–1875)
about 1860–62
Medium/Technique
Pastel over black conté crayon on laid paper, originally blue, now aged to cream
Dimensions
40 x 29 cm (15 3/4 x 11 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession Number17.1494
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPastels
Millet's adopted village of Barbizon bordered the forest of Fontainebleau. This young shepherdess knits in the shade of the forest while her dog keeps watch over the flock grazing in the field beyond. This peaceful scene is also a reminder of the activity and labor that characterized peasant life.
Throughout the 1850s, Millet almost exclusively used black conté crayon in his drawings. Encouraged by friend and biographer Alfred Sensier to make his drawings more appealing to collectors, Millet introduced more color into his works on paper through the use of pastel.
Throughout the 1850s, Millet almost exclusively used black conté crayon in his drawings. Encouraged by friend and biographer Alfred Sensier to make his drawings more appealing to collectors, Millet introduced more color into his works on paper through the use of pastel.
InscriptionsLower right: J. F. Millet
ProvenancePossibly M. Atger [see note 1]; March 12, 1874, anonymous (Atger) sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 80. Quincy Adams Shaw (b. 1825 - d. 1908), Boston; 1917, gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy A. Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 29, 1917)
NOTES:
[1] Possibly French collector Xavier Atger, Montpellier
NOTES:
[1] Possibly French collector Xavier Atger, Montpellier