Jean François Millet
French, 1814­1875
Peasants Bringing Home a Calf Born in the Fields
1864
Oil on canvas
81.1 x 100 cm
Henry Field Memorial Collection, 1894.1063

At the time that Millet painted this picture, French art usually showed people from the upper classes. Though the peasantry (farmers) had just received the right to vote, many Parisians looked down on them as “country bumpkins.”

In the artist’s day, this image of peasants carrying a newborn calf was harshly criticized and considered offensive because of the importance Millet gave to the peasants. Today we see in this painting the gentle beauty and harmony between man and nature.