“The Sheepfold, Moonlight”
This oil on panel piece is by the French Realism and Barbizon artist, Jean-François Millet, from 1856-1860, and is titled “The Sheepfold, Moonlight”. This painting 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 that of peasant life.
Rather than display the romanticized ideals of life, he 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 that lifestyle, which he wanted to exhibit in his work.
According the 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.
