Shepherdess Sitting at the Edge of the Forest
Jean-François Millet
(French, 1814–1875)
about 1848–49
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions32.4 x 24.7 cm (12 3/4 x 9 3/4 in.)
Credit LineGift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession number17.1484
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
The image of a solitary shepherdess tending her flock became a favorite motif in Millet’s depictions of French peasants and laborers. Seemingly lost in thought, she leans against an embankment, staff in hand, catching a moment’s rest. Small-scale canvases like this were attractive to private collectors; Millet sold this work to prominent Boston artist William Morris Hunt.
