The Potato Harvest

The Potato Harvest
ArtistJean-François Millet
Year1855
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions54 cm × 65.2 cm (21 in × 25.7 in)
LocationThe Walters Art Museum city=Baltimore

The Potato Harvest is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Jean-François Millet, created in 1855. It is held at The Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore.[1]

History

Jean-François Millet was raised in the area of France known as the old province of Normandy. He was brought up with hard out-of-door labor. After studying to become a painter, he devoted his art to illustrating peasants farming the land. His subjects were often taken from his surroundings or from memories from his youth.[2]

During the 1850s, Millet began incorporating his subjects into landscapes. The Potato Harvest is one of nine works which drew international acclaim at the Exposition Universelle in 1867.[3]

Composition

The Potato Harvest depicts peasants working in the plains between Barbizon and Chailly. It presents a theme representative of the peasants' struggle for survival. Millet's technique for this work incorporated paste-like pigments thickly applied over a coarsely textured canvas.[3]

References

  1. ^ The Walters Art Museum
  2. ^ Estelle, M.H., Jean Francois Millet, Tredition, 2011, pp. 1-2, ISBN 3842434642
  3. ^ a b Johnston, W.R., Nineteenth Century Art: From Romanticism to Art Nouveau, The Walters Art Gallery, p.56, ISBN 1857592433