Training Grape Vines
Jean-François Millet
(French, 1814–1875)
about 1860–64
Medium/TechniquePastel on blue-gray wove paper
Dimensions43.8 x 64.1 cm (17 1/4 x 25 1/4 in.)
Credit LineGift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession number17.1528
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPastels
Collections
In this work, Millet makes full use of the pastel medium without any underdrawing. The unusual horizontal composition creates structure and visually organizes the space, while also speaking to Millet’s burgeoning interest in the possibilities of landscape as more than a background. The loose marks and free use of color seen here are also indicative of his stylistic progression.
ProvenanceAlfred Sensier; December 10-18, 1877, Sensier sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 201, sold to Alphonse Legrand (dealer), Paris, probably for 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)
