Le Paysan rentrant du fumier (Man with a Wheelbarrow or Peasant Returning from the Dung Heap)

Description

Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2012
Jean-François Millet
France, 1814–1875
Peasant Returning from the Dung Heap
1855–56
Etching
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Theodore B. Russell, 1968/2.32
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.