The Quarriers
Artist: Jean-Francois Millet (French, 1814-1875)
Date: 1846-1847
Dimensions:
29 × 23 1/2 in. (73.7 × 59.7 cm)
Medium: oil on canvas
Place of Origin: France
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur J. Secor
Object number: 1922.45
Label Text:The backbreaking labor of poor, itinerant workers excavating rocky ground for new railroads is the subject of this dynamic painting by Jean-François Millet. Two workers strain to dislodge a boulder with a physical effort that the viewer can almost feel. The sketchy brushwork eliminates unessential detail and adds to the sense of energy and tension.
Unlike the beautiful, noble peasants of artist Jules Breton, the faces of Millet’s workers are often hidden or only roughly defined, underscoring the hardship and anonymity of their lives. Born to a peasant family himself, Millet was often accused of revolutionary sympathies because of the social overtones of his images of agricultural workers and laborers. As Millet explained, though, “the peasant subjects suit my temperament best; for I must confess, even if you think me a socialist, that the human side of art is what touches me most.”
Unlike the beautiful, noble peasants of artist Jules Breton, the faces of Millet’s workers are often hidden or only roughly defined, underscoring the hardship and anonymity of their lives. Born to a peasant family himself, Millet was often accused of revolutionary sympathies because of the social overtones of his images of agricultural workers and laborers. As Millet explained, though, “the peasant subjects suit my temperament best; for I must confess, even if you think me a socialist, that the human side of art is what touches me most.”
On view
In Collection(s)