Returning from the Fields

Description Although often associated with the Barbizon school, Breton favored a more idealized treatment of his subjects and a more polished style of painting. In this rural scene, probably set in the artist's native Pas-de-Calais, north of Paris, three young women return from the fields at dusk. Their idealized forms contrast markedly with the harshness of Millet's depictions of peasant life.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
6/14/1968	Treatment	other
6/27/1977	Treatment	mounted; coated
6/14/1983	Treatment	loss compensation
7/03/1986	Treatment	loss compensation
8/11/1993	Examination	examined for condition
7/21/1995	Treatment	cleaned; loss compensation
7/01/1996	Examination	examined for condition
3/12/1999	Treatment	re-housed
3/19/1999	Examination	examined for condition

Exhibitions

• Jules Breton and the French Rural Tradition. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha; The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. 1982-1983.
• Redefining Genre: French and American Painting 1850-1900. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Meridian International Center, Washington. 1995-1996.
• Botanical Delights: Floral Motifs in 19th-Century Art. Government House, Annapolis; Strathmore Hall Art Center, North Bethesda; Academy Art Museum, Easton. 1998-1999.
• A Discerning Eye: Nineteenth-century Drawings and Watercolors. Academy Art Museum, Easton. 1998-1999.
• Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. 2000-2002.
• A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. 2002-2004.
• The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Manet. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2004-2005.
• The Road to Impressionism: Barbizon Landscapes from the Walters Art Museum. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. 2008-2009.
• 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. 2010-2011.

Provenance Mrs. Mary J. Morgan, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mrs. Mary J. Morgan Sale, American Art Galleries, New York, 1886, no. 158 [p. 67]; William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1886, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Signature] Lower right: Jules Breton; [Date] Lower right: 1871

Credit Acquired by William T. Walters, 1886