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Peasant Returning from the Manure Heap
Jean-François Millet (French, 1814–1875)
1855–56
- Medium
- etching
- Classification
- Dimensions
- Plate: 16.2 x 13.2 cm (6 3/8 x 5 3/16 in.)
- Culture
- France, 19th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Prints
- Credit line
- Gift of Ralph King
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Millet moved from Paris to the nearby village of Barbizon in 1849 in search of rustic subject matter. The group of painters working in the countryside surrounding the Forest of Fontainebleau frequently painted out-of-doors in order to create fresh and accurate views of nature. While most of the Barbizon artists focused primarily on landscape, Millet also represented peasants. His works celebrate the nobility and dignity of people living close to the soil, symbols of the stability and continuity lacking in modern life
