Artwork Page for Return from the Fields

Details / Information for Return from the Fields

Return from the Fields

c. 1846–47

Jean-François Millet

(French, 1814–1875)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Framed: 68 x 60 x 10 cm (26 3/4 x 23 5/8 x 3 15/16 in.); Unframed: 46.2 x 37.8 cm (18 3/16 x 14 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1972.19
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

This idealized vision of noble peasant life was painted during a period of intense industrialization in France, accompanied by economic depression and the abandonment of farms. Nostalgic peasant scenes were especially popular in the 1840s, a stark contrast to the disillusionment and tension that would violently surface in the Revolution of 1848. The vague shapes and faces of the family seen here make them symbols of the land, rather than individuals.
A vertically oriented oil painting depicts a man with light skin tone on our left pushing a wooden wheelbarrow toward the right. He wears a straw hat and brown vest. Centered inside, a child with light skin tone lies on green grass. Behind, a woman with light skin tone and bared chest reaches toward our right. A third figure leans over the child. Muted earth tones and soft brushwork define the shadowed landscape.

Return from the Fields

c. 1846–47

Jean-François Millet

(French, 1814–1875)
France, 19th century

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