Artwork
Woman with a Rake
Woman with a Rake is an oil painting by Jean François Millet. It dates from 1856 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting emphasizes her connection to the land and the physicality of farm labor, presenting the peasant figure as a dignified embodiment of rural work.
Woman with a Rake portrays a female agricultural worker dressed in an apron, holding a rake while standing in a field near a haystack. The painting emphasizes her connection to the land and the physicality of farm labor, presenting the peasant figure as a dignified embodiment of rural work. By focusing on the woman’s task and the surrounding agricultural setting, Millet highlights the interplay between human effort and the cultivated landscape, underscoring themes of toil, stewardship, and the quiet strength inherent in everyday peasant life.
Technique & Style
Woman with a Rake is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for mid-nineteenth-century French painting. The work is modest in scale, measuring 39.7 cm in height by 34.3 cm in width, an intimate format suited to Millet's closely observed rural studies. The composition centers on a female agricultural figure rendered with attention to her working attire, including an apron, and her engagement with a rake in a field setting, with a haystack visible in the surrounding landscape.
Millet's handling reflects the realist approach characteristic of his peasant imagery, focusing on the dignity of manual labor through sober tonalities and straightforward depiction. The painting is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been preserved as part of the institution's holdings of Millet's oeuvre.
History & Provenance
Jean-François Millet painted Woman with a Rake in 1856, employing oil on canvas to portray a solitary female laborer in a field. The work measures roughly 39.7 × 34.3 cm and exemplifies the artist’s focus on agricultural toil. Following its creation, the painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been exhibited as part of the museum’s European paintings department.
No records indicate a prior private commission or a documented chain of private owners before its acquisition by the museum.
Woman with a Rake, an 1856 oil-on-canvas painting by Jean-François Millet, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work measures 39.7 cm in height by 34.3 cm in width. No specific accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented in the provided materials.
Overview
The oil painting titled Woman with a Rake presents a solitary figure engaged in agricultural labor. Set within an expansive field, the artwork captures a moment of quiet contemplation amidst daily work. The scene conveys a sense of tranquility, inviting viewers to observe the woman's introspective posture and the surrounding pastoral environment. This piece exemplifies a focus on everyday life and the dignity of rural work.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-François Millet (French pronunciation:; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France.
