Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Potato Harvest
(18th and 19th Centuries )
After moving from Paris to the village of Barbizon on the edge of the Fontainebleau forest in 1851, Millet devoted himself to portraying the lives of his neighbors. Some critics interpreted his paintings of working farmers as a critique of the injustices inherent in the social conditions of his time. Others have seen his work as a representation of man's harmonious union with nature.
On the right a farmer is pouring a basket of potatoes into a sack held open by a woman. Beside the couple are three full sacks and a cart. Further back, at the left, two en are digging potatoes which are being gathered by women. The sky at the left is suffused with warm sunlight, whereas the right side is darkened by a glowering, low-lying rain cloud.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Papeleu, prior to 1863 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Baron Goethals, prior to 1867 [mode of acquisition unknown]; William T. Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1878 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2024-2025 | Reinstallation 2024: Art and Process. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2010-2011 | 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. |
| 2008-2009 | In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet. National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston. |
| 2004-2005 | The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Manet. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002-2004 | 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. |
| 2000-2002 | 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. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1998 | Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1996 | Millet and Barbizon Art. Matsumoto City Museum, Matsumoto City; Tokuyama City Museum of Art and History, Tokuyama; Kasama Nichido Museum, Kasama City; Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa. |
| 1988-1989 | Van Gogh and Millet. Rijksmuseum Vincent Van Gogh, Amsterdam. |
| 1982-1983 | 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. |
| 1959 | Corot and His Contemporaries. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston. |
| 1867 | Exposition Universelle. Paris. |
| 1889-1890 | The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 2/1/1937 | Treatment | cleaned; coated; other |
| 4/10/1975 | Treatment | cleaned; repaired; loss compensation; coated; other |
| 2/1/1979 | Treatment | re-framed; other |
| 6/14/1983 | Treatment | stabilized |
| 4/29/1988 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 2/8/1994 | Treatment | re-framed |
| 9/25/1995 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 4/12/1999 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
France, Barbizon (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 21 1/4 x W: 25 11/16 in. (54 x 65.2 cm); Framed H with build-up: 37 1/8 x W: 41 9/16 x D: 5 1/2 in. (94.3 x 105.57 x 13.97 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1878
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.115