End of the Hamlet of Gruchy
Jean-François Millet
(French, 1814–1875)
1856
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions46.4 x 55.9 cm (18 1/4 x 22 in.)
Credit LineGift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession number17.1501
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Millet grew up in the tiny hamlet of Gruchy on the coast of Normandy. He left as a young man to pursue his artistic training in Paris, but retained deep emotional connections to his hometown and to this vista in particular: he painted several versions of this composition over a number of years. Describing the impact of this view, Millet reflected: “going down toward the sea, suddenly one faces the great marine view and the boundless horizon. Near the last house, an old elm stands against the infinite void. How long has this poor old tree stood there beaten by the north wind?”
InscriptionsLower right: J. F. MilletProvenance1856, possibly painted for M. P., Perpignan [see note 1]. Quincy Adams Shaw (b. 1825 - d. 1908), Boston; 1917, gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy A. Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 29, 1917)
NOTES:
[1] Alfred Sensier, La Vie et l’Oeuvre de J.-F. Millet (Paris, 1881) p. 167 (as
"Bout du Village de Gréville").
NOTES:
[1] Alfred Sensier, La Vie et l’Oeuvre de J.-F. Millet (Paris, 1881) p. 167 (as
"Bout du Village de Gréville").
