Jean-François MILLET (1814 - 1875) - Lot 22

Lot n° 22
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Estimation :
3000 - 5000 EUR
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Result : 9 828EUR
Jean-François MILLET (1814 - 1875) - Lot 22
Jean-François MILLET (1814 - 1875) The meridian Black pencil 14 x 21 cm (view) With frame: 38 x 52 cm (Insolate) Provenance Sale of the artist's studio, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, May 10-11, 1875, probably part of lot 173 or 175, Moissonneurs endormis, stamped lower right (L.1460) Pencil drawing, studia stamp lower right (L.1460), 5.5 x 8.2 in,with frame : 14.9 x 20.4 in Our drawing is a study for Le Midi, part of a series of engravings Les Quatre Heures du jour: scènes rustiques, engraved by Adrien Lavieille, after original drawings by J.F. Millet, published in Paris, J. Claye, 1860. Conceived around 1858, and engraved in 1860 by Adrien Lavieille, the Quatre Heures du jour series of engravings aims to show the pleasant, idyllic side of working in the midst of unspoiled nature. The peasant couple's journey to the field in the early hours of the morning, their shared mid-day siesta, the beneficial end to the working day and the evening with their family - all bear witness to the close alliance between man and nature. "They inspire love of the countryside and respect for the peasant," wrote critic Philippe Burty in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts after the series was published. As usual, Millet later used his drawings for other works. The best-known variants are the pastels of the four scenes from the series of engravings produced in the late 1860s: Le Départ pour le travail, 1867 (location unknown), La Méridienne, 1866 (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts), La Fin de la journée, 1867-69 (Rochester, Memorial Art Gallery of the University) and La Veillée, 1867 (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts). An admirer of Millet, whom he considered "a more modern painter than Manet", Vincent Van Gogh undertook in 1889 to translate Quatre Heures du jour into color. He explained his approach to his brother Theo: "It's more a question of translating the black-and-white chiaroscuro impressions into another language, that of color. Of the four canvases painted between 1880 and 1890, La méridienne (Paris, Musée d'Orsay) remains the most emblematic of the relationship between the two artists. It was painted during Van Gogh's stay in Saint-Rémy de Provence, while he was committed to an asylum.
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