Sketches
1834–75
Medium
Woodcut on wove paper; second (final) state; posthumous impression
Dimensions
block: 5 9/16 x 3 3/4 in. (14.2 x 9.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dr. Van Horne Norrie, 1917
Accession Number
17.34.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jean-François Millet, a pioneering French Realist painter associated with the Barbizon School created this intimate woodcut titled *Sketches* sometime between 1834 and 1875. Known for his empathetic portrayals of rural peasant life, Millet occasionally explored printmaking, and this work exemplifies his experimental side. The medium—a woodcut on wove in its second (final) statehighlights the tactile precision of printing, where the artist carves away negative space from a woodblock to produce bold, graphic lines. Measuring just 5 9/16 x 3 3/4 inches, its small scale invites close contemplation...
About the Artist
Jean-François Millet · 1814–1875
Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school, whose dignified depictions of peasant laborers transformed how art could represent rural life. His monumental images of sowers, gleaners, and field workers elevated common people to subjects previously reserved for mythological or historical figures, making him a pivotal figure in the development ...