La Cardeuse (The Wool Carder)
Jean-François Millet
Description
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Jean-François Millet
France, 1814–1875
The Wool Carder
1855–56
Etching
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1955/1.120
Both Millet and Pissarro created enduring images of peasants at work. Although they approach this subject differently, Millet’s man with a wheelbarrow and Pissarro’s sketch of a man digging both reflect the appeal of peasant labor as a theme in art after the Revolution of 1848, when common people were increasingly of interest to intellectuals and politicians. In this period some artists began to reject mythological and historical topics in favor of humble figures drawn from contemporary society. Millet was an important realist painter and printmaker specializing in scenes of rustic life and his work greatly influenced Pissarro
Works on paper are fragile and light sensitive and therefore can remain on view for only a few months at a time. As a result, prints in these drawers are rotated throughout the year. Please visit often to experience more of UMMA’s outstanding collection of works on paper.
Subject Matter:
This quiet humble interior with a woman carding wool shows Millet's affinities with Dutch 17th century genre scenes, many of which also feature peasants or working class people.
Physical Description:
A woman is shown seated in a simple interior. She is holding carding combs and is seated next to a pile of uncarded wool on one side and skeins of yarn on the other. Behind her is the wheel of a spinning wheel.
Usage Rights:
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