Jean-François Millet
French, 1814–1875
Peasant Girl Returning from the Well
c. 1860
Millet often depicted women at work in rural settings, both indoors and outdoors. Here, a girl carries two water buckets that she has filled at the well in the background. Her features are generalized and her clothing is plain, while the setting is broadly defined with soft brushstrokes. These elements emphasize the timeless nature of her work, a necessary daily chore in the mid-nineteenth century and for generations before.
Medium | oil on panel |
Dimensions | 10 3/8 x 7 5/16 in. (26.4 x 18.5 cm) Frame: 16 1/4 x 13 1/8 x 2 in. (41.3 x 33.3 x 5.1 cm) Original dimensions: 10 x 6 13/16 in. (25.4 x 17.3 cm) |
Object Number | 1955.551 |
Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Jean-François Millet, Peasant Girl Returning from the Well, c. 1860, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.551
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EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Saulnier;¹ Laurent-Richard, Paris (until 1878, his sale, Drouot, Paris, 23 May 1878, no. 54, as Paysanne venant de puiser de l’eau, sold to Brame; [Brame, Paris, from 1878]; possibly Paul Tesse;² Ernest Secrétan, Paris (until 1889, his sale, Galerie Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris, 1 July 1889, no. 64, ill., as Le Retour de la fontaine, sold to Arnold); Arnold (from 1889); Alfred Corning Clark, New York and Cooperstown (d. 1896); Elizabeth Scriven Clark, his wife, by descent (1896–d. 1909); Robert Sterling Clark, her son, by descent (1909–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955. 1. Louis Soullié, Peintures, aquarelles, pastels, dessins de Jean-François Millet relevés dans les catalogues de ventes de 1849 à 1900, p. 7, lists Saulnier as the first owner; this may indicate John Saulnier, who owned several other paintings by Millet. 2. The “PT” monogram on the reverse of this panel suggests that it was owned by Paul Tesse, but the dates of his ownership are unknown. See also 1955.555 and 1955.532.