Millet2022

complement. 5 It is vital to consider the larger sociopolitical context of Millet’s work: the mid-nineteenth century was a moment of transition and crisis in France as large numbers of peasants were migrating to cities and towns in search of a better life. This destabilizing trend, along with fresh memories of the Revolution of 1848, which overthrew the July Monarchy and established the Second Republic, meant that Millet’s images carried a political undercurrent that rankled conservatives. Despite Millet’s protestations to the contrary, it is difficult not to read his images of peasants as an implicit critique of the inequities that left so many with so little. 6 In 1849, during an epidemic of cholera in Paris, Millet moved to Barbizon with his second wife Catherine and their children. (His first wife, Pauline-Virginie, died of consumption in 1844.) It was here that Millet made a series of works depicting the daily tasks of local peasants, whom he often employed as models. Taken together, these works offer a kind of encyclopedia or almanac of farm chores, many of which were divided neatly along gender lines. For instance, women are shown churning butter, carding wool, or knitting, while men chop wood, till the soil, or cart hay. Sheep shearing was the exception, as subduing the woolly and wiggly beasts clearly required teamwork. This was not due to any prejudices about men’s vs. women’s places in society, but rather reflected quite accurately the division of labor in rural French life during the mid-nineteenth century. Drawing continued to be a core component of Millet’s artistic practice as it had been since the beginning of his career. Millet’s drawing style was diverse as well as inventive, consisting of rapid preparatory sketches; atmospheric conté crayon drawings (his preferred medium by far); lively pen-and-ink studies; and rare russet sanguines. He also produced numerous presentation drawings in pastel, which he applied in layered, delicate touches of color. Many of these were made to satisfy his collectors and reprised his most popular works, such as The Sower .

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