A Milkmaid

Image credit: The Henry Barber Trust, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

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A milkmaid, silhouetted against the moon, pauses to rebalance a heavy copper pitcher on her shoulder. Despite her small scale, the figure has a monumentality which conveys a timeless quality. Millet came from a peasant background in Normandy and his paintings of rural labour were rooted in his own early experiences. They also reflected his deeply conservative belief in the natural cycle of the seasons and the dignity of the peasant. Nonetheless, works such as this, with its rugged handling of paint and restricted palette, were interpreted by contemporaries as radical in sentiment.
Title

A Milkmaid

Date

c.1853

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 32.5 x W 24 cm

Accession number

77.1

Acquisition method

purchased, 1977

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

Signed: J.F. Millet

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Normally on display at

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2TS England

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