Millet2022

6. The Basket Maker Le Vannier

c. 1845–50 Black conte crayon, charcoal, and wash on paper 6 5 ⁄ 16 x 6 5 ⁄ 16 in. (16 x 16 cm) Stamped lower left: Lugt 1816

Millet’s portrayals of the activities of daily life included sowers, winnowers, and potato farmers, all of which required baskets. This rare portrayal of a young man weaving a basket has additional meaning when one realizes the critical importance of baskets to so many facets of daily life in rural France at this time. While our drawing was most likely done in Millet’s last years in Normandy before he moved to Barbizon, we find the same subject was still on his mind in the 1860’s, as seen in the 1867 pastel in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Winter Evening , 1867, pastel and black conte crayon on paper; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (17.1520)