Return from the Fields — About This Work
Jean-François Millet, c. 1846–47
About the Work
A rural family group fills the painting with close, warm forms. Millet gives the return from work a gathered, inward character, concentrating attention on the people rather than allowing a broad landscape to dominate them.
The museum discusses such peasant scenes against industrialisation and rural hardship in France. That context complicates an apparently reassuring image, connecting its idealised view of family life with a period of economic and social pressure.
The dark palette makes the relationships within the group particularly important. Looking slowly reveals how nearby bodies, subdued light and limited space create a sense of shared life without supplying a detailed account of these individuals.
The Work
Artist: Jean-François Millet
Title: Return from the Fields
Date: c. 1846–47
Medium: Oil on fabric
Recorded dimensions: 37.8 × 46.2 cm (W × H)
Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession number: 1972.19
Print & Presentation
Palatine presentation: 45 × 60 cm Classic Frame, portrait.
The complete artwork is reproduced at its recorded scale, subject only to negligible whole-pixel rounding, without enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion. The surrounding white presentation area accommodates the artwork within the framed presentation and is incorporated into the print rather than added as a separate mount.
Frame finishes: Black, White or Natural.
Paper & glazing: Enhanced Matte + Perspex; or Enhanced Matte + Moth-Eye.
Why Original Scale?
Most art-print shops offer the same image in a choice of Small, Medium and Large sizes. We take a different approach. For each edition, we begin with the recorded dimensions of the original work and reproduce the complete image at that scale, preserving its proportions and avoiding enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion.
Source: Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund. 1972.19.
Care: Display in a dry interior away from prolonged direct sunlight and sources of moisture.
Notes from Palatine
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