JEAN-FRANÇOIS MILLET: HERITAGE IMAGES/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES; GIFT OF QUINCY ADAMS SHAW THROUGH QUINCY ADAMS SHAW, JR., AND M
RS. MARIAN SHAW HAUGHTON/MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
The short shadows indicate a time close to midday.
Millet reserved the strongest shadow accents for
elements in the foreground, outlining the peasants
andtheirbelongings.Furtheraway,tonalcontrasts
inthelandscapearediffusedbydistanceandheat.The unselfconscious attitudes of the sleeping figures speak
to the effects of physical exhaustion. Their individuality
is sublimated to a generalized idea: the laboriousness
of fieldwork. Millet denied a political intent in his work.
“Peasantsubjects,”hesaid,“suitmytemperamentbest.
...Thehumansideiswhattouchesmemost.”A young man and woman
are seen sleeping, in
Alexandra R. Murphy’s words,
“in the shade of a haystack—
source of both their livelihood
and their exhaustion ...”
Though they’re oblivious
to each other in sleep, their
status as a couple is rein-
forced throughout by the
pairing of other items, such
as the closely arranged
sabots, sickles and oxen.Noonday Rest was
drawn on buff wove
paper. This color estab-
lishes a unifying harmony
for the entire work;
a prevailing golden tone
suggests the haze of
a hot summer day.Millet applied the pastel
throughout with short, well-
defi ned strokes. This handling
suggests a rough-hewn
environment seen in the
prickliness of dried grasses, the
strawlike texture of wheat and the
grain of the peasants’ clothing.
The man’s feet look calloused,
and even the fabric at the knees
of his pants appears worn. The
implication is that these workers
are at one with the earth.ArtistsNetwork.com 15