Jean-François Millet
, French, 1814-1875
Title
A Storm during HaymakingDatec.1865
MediumPastel on paper
Dimensions
47.5 x 57 cm
Signedlower right: J.F. Millet
Credit LinePresented, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, 1950
Object numberNGI.7820
DescriptionThis work forms part of an innovative series of pastels commissioned from the artist by the Parisian architect, collector and dealer Émile Gavet. Dark ominous clouds juxtaposed with shafts of bright light indicate a turbulent storm overhead and highlight the man turning hay, while the empty rising foreground heightens the drama of the scene. The short, mosaic-like strokes of colour that describe the grass are typical of the artist’s distinctive pastel technique. Millet, who came from a farming background, felt tremendous empathy for those who worked the land with their hands. His rural subjects gleaned from contemporary social reality are imbued with a personal sense of nostalgia. Van Gogh was profoundly influenced by Millet’s work and copied a number of his compositions. In June 1875 a sale exhibition was held in the Hôtel Drouot in Paris of 95 pastels and drawings by Millet from the Émile Gavet Collection (Lugt 1938-1987, no. 35754). Van Gogh viewed the sale and later wrote to his brother Theo, expressing his awe at what he had seen:‘When I entered the room in Hôtel Drouot where they were exhibited, I felt something akin to: Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground’. (to Theo van Gogh. Paris, 29 June 1875).
March 2016
Exhibition HistoryShades of Grey: Painting without Colour, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 22 June - 29 September 2013