Currently not on view
Study for Les Grands Bucherons,
ca. 1850
Jean-François Millet, 1814–1875; born Gruchy, France; died Barbizon, France
x1948-383
The development of preparatory studies for finished paintings was an essential part of Millet’s working process, as demonstrated by the drawing The Large Woodcutters, which relates to a canvas in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The vigorous back and forth movements of the sawyers are echoed by Millet’s circular, energetic black chalk strokes. Millet’s drawing Goose Girl Bathing is a study for a canvas in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Idyllic yet naturalistic, the awkward, angular form of the adolescent girl—a far cry from the idealized Salon nudes of the day—perfectly captures Millet’s approach to the figure.
Information
Title
Study for Les Grands Bucherons
Dates
ca. 1850
Maker
Medium
Black chalk
Dimensions
27.3 x 38.1 cm (10 3/4 x 15 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Dan Fellows Platt, Class of 1895
Object Number
x1948-383
Signatures
Artist stamp, lower right: J.F.M. [Lugt 1460]
Marks/Labels/Seals
Stamp, verso: D.F.P. [in circle] [Lugt 750a]
Culture
Materials
Subject
Leicester Gallery;
1928, purchased by Dan Fellows Platt;
Bequeathed to the Princeton University Art Museum
- Agnes Mongan, "Drawings in the Platt Collection", American magazine of art 25, no. 1 (Jul., 1932): p. 47-54., p. 53
- 19th and 20th century French drawings from the Art Museum, Princeton University: an introduction, (Princeton, NJ: Distributed by Princeton University Press, 1972)., pp. 54, 90, cat. no. 14; p. 55 (illus.)
