Portrait of Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña
Medium
black chalk with heightening in pale green-blue chalk
Dimensions
61.4 × 48.7 cm
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2003.41
Tags
male
About this artwork
Jean-François Millet executed this boldly drawn life-sized portrait at an early point in his career when he had very little money and his paintings would not sell. Another artist had suggested he make drawings to trade for clothing, and this example belongs to a group of four chalk portraits of artist colleagues that Millet sold together for only twenty French francs (about three dollars). The sitter, Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña, became known for his thickly painted, luminous and colorful l...