The Sick Child — About This Work
Jean-François Millet, 1858
About the Work
A man stands in the doorway holding a bowl while a seated woman bends toward the bundled child in her lap. Dense parallel strokes deepen the interior shadows, and a cat on the shelf forms one of the small details that animate the room.
Cleveland identifies this as the first version of a subject Millet later treated again in a more finished pastel that is now lost. Changes visible in the father’s bowl and the cat show the composition still being worked out, while the family grouping carries an echo of the traditional Holy Family.
The complete sheet measures 32.1 × 40.4 cm. At Original Scale in the 40 × 50 cm frame, the drawing remains close and domestic while the complete vellum sheet and its framing lines are retained.
The Work
Artist: Jean-François Millet
Title: The Sick Child
Date: 1858
Medium: Black crayon
Recorded dimensions: 32.1 × 40.4 cm (W × H)
Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art
Accession number: 1998.300
Print & Presentation
Palatine presentation: 40 × 50 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.
Care: Display in a dry interior away from prolonged direct sunlight and sources of moisture.
Notes from Palatine
If you would like to stay with us, Notes from Palatine is an occasional letter about newly added works, artists and the thinking behind the collection. There is no fixed schedule; we write when there is something worth sharing.
Palatine Editions · Original Scale Editions · palatineeditions.com