Pears
Jean-François Millet
(French, 1814–1875)
about 1862–66
Country of Origin, for CustomsFrance
Medium/TechniqueOil on panel
Dimensions18.4 x 25.4 cm (7 1/4 x 10 in.)
Credit LineGift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession number17.1519
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
The fruit and flowers included in still life paintings are often rare and expensive varieties. But Millet believed in the beauty of common things, even simple pears from a rural garden. "Who would dare to claim," he asked, "that a potato is inferior to a pomegranate?"
InscriptionsLower right: J. F. MilletProvenance1875, from the artist to his widow, Catherine Lemaire Millet (b. 1827 - d. 1894), Barbizon; sold by Mme. Millet to Quincy Adams Shaw (b. 1825 - d. 1908), Boston [see note 1]; 1917, gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr. and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 29, 1917)NOTES:
[1] See Alexandra R. Murphy, Jean-François Millet (Boston, 1984), p. xii.
