Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Goose Girl
(18th and 19th Centuries )
A young girl, identifiable as a peasant by her kerchief and her work-roughened hands and feet, extends her leg to dip a heel into the stream. In this painting, Millet refers to a long tradition in European art of depicting the idealized female nude in a natural setting, often in the guise of a mythological figure. The artist reworks this convention from a Realist perspective, emphasizing the goose girl's working-class status, adolescent body, and vulnerable pose. Millet developed this composition through numerous studies made over a period of seven years.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Ennemond Blanc [dealer], 1865, by purchase [from the artist]; Van Praet, Brussels [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; J. Saulnier, Bordeaux [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Mme Vve. Saulnier Sale, Paris, 1886, no. 64 [illus. 29]; Sedelmeyer Sale, Paris, March 25, 1892, no. 10; Henri Heugel, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henri Heugel Sale, Paris, May 26, 1905, no. 12; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1905, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2024-2025 | Reinstallation 2024: Art and Process. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2019-2020 | Millet and Modern Art: Van Gogh to Dalí. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, AJ Amsterdam; Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis. |
| 2017-2018 | Jean-François Millet. Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille, Lille. |
| 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 | The Road to Impressionism: Barbizon Landscapes from the Walters Art Museum. The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. |
| 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. |
| 1999-2000 | Drawn into the Light: Jean-François Millet. The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, AJ Amsterdam; The Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh. |
| 1998 | Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1964-1965 | Man: Glory, Jest, and Riddle, A Survey of the Human Form Through the Ages. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco. |
| 1963 | Birth of Impressionism. Pace Wildenstein Gallery, New York. |
| 1951 | From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/25/1951 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 9/17/1964 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 3/24/1975 | Treatment | loss compensation; coated; other |
| 7/25/1991 | Treatment | coated |
| 9/2/1998 | Examination | examined for loan |
| 8/22/2006 | Examination | examined for loan |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 14 15/16 × W:18 5/16 in. (37.94 × 46.51 cm)
Framed H: 22 5/16 × W: 26 1/4 × D: 4 1/2 in. (56.67 × 66.68 × 11.43 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1905
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.
37.153