“The Sheepfold, Moonlight”
Please enjoy this nightscape from Millet.
“The Sheepfold, Moonlight” is an oil on panel painting by the French artist of the Barbizon school, Jean-François Millet, from 1856-1860. This was first exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1867, the second world’s fair, that was held in Paris.
In “The Sheepfold, Moonlight”, Millet depicts a solitary shepherd at work on the plains between the towns of Barbizon and Chailly in north-central France. Millet had moved to Barbizon in 1849, and during the 1850s, his work completely shifted focus from portraiture to peasant life.
Rather than display a romanticized view of the people in the countryside, Millet wanted to show the reality of the hard life that many people lived. Millet was raised by a farmer and worked on a farm until he was 18 years old. He had an overall respect and understanding of the rural lifestyle, which he wanted to exhibit in his work.
According to the Walters Museum website, Millet had said “Oh, how I wish I could make those who see my work feel the splendors and terrors of the night! One ought to be able to make people hear the songs, the silences, and murmurings of the air. They should feel the infinite..”.
“The Sheepfold, Moonlight” is currently on display at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States.
For more on Jean-François Millet, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
