Mid-Day, from "Four Times of the Day"
Original title: Mid-Day, from "Four Times of the Day"
kurzbeschreibung
A farm labourer stretched out for the midday rest dominates Jean-François Millet's 'Mittag', made in 1860. The sheet belongs to the series 'Die vier Tageszeiten' and exists as a wood engraving on chine collé.
Description
In the foreground a figure lies on his back in the grass, dressed in plain work clothes and a hat. His hands are clasped behind his head and his knees are slightly bent; a short distance away a skull rests on the ground. Behind him an ass-drawn cart and a large haystack can be made out. Light enters from the left, casting firm shadows across the right side of the body and into the depth of the image. Everything stays monochrome in shades of grey, with exact surface textures and carefully placed hatching.
Context
During the 1860s Millet turned more and more to rural life and the labour of peasants, and the series 'Die vier Tageszeiten' dates from these years. The wood engravings served as reproductions after his paintings and were used in journals and books. Millet belonged to the Barbizon school, which made everyday peasant life a subject of art.
Impact
The quiet, almost devotional posture of the resting man gives off a peaceful calm. At the same time, the meeting of the relaxed body with the symbolic skull brings a reflective note about life and death.
Technique
For this sheet the motif was cut into a woodblock and then pulled on chine collé. The method allows the finest strokes and precise detail, which shows in the nuanced rendering of textures and shading.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)