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Shepherdess
Shepherdess
Shepherdess

Shepherdess

Maker (French, 1814-1875)
Date1814 - 1875
MediumLithograph on chine collé
DimensionsImage: 7 1/16 x 9 1/2 in. (17.9 x 24.1 cm)
Sheet: 13-1/8 x 15 in. (33.3 x 38.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Alan and Lois Fern in honor of the 30th Anniversary of the Smart Museum
Object number2003.133
Status
Not on view
Description

Though not as prolific an etcher as Charles Jacque or Charles-François Daubigny, Millet developed an original and individual style of printmaking. He was also the first to represent the peasant at work, as a generalized figure taking part in the great seasonal cycles of labor. The peasant’s seasonal time connoted a slow, natural rhythm at the opposite pole from the mechanized repetition and accelerated pace of urban work.


Neither picturesque nor caricatured, Millet’s peasants often exude the same immutable character as the land itself. He imbued them with a true moral fervor and heroism. Even when at rest from her work, the seated shepherdess shown here remains, respectively, industrious and watchful.