Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

The Plain of Chailly, with a Ruined Telegraph Tower

Jean-François Millet
1814-1875

The Plain of Chailly, with a Ruined Telegraph Tower

1860s
7 1/2 x 14 1/4 inches
Black chalk on paper.
2004.6

Gift of John M. Thayer.

Notes
The flat,shelter-less plain of Chailly,which skirted the forest at Fontainebleau near Millet's home in Barbizon,was a subject favored by Theodore Rousseau and other artists active in the forest and its environs. Millet spent time walking through the plain and sketching the many activities of rural laborers there.
Millet also painted views of the vast plain with a harrow and plow and the slight mound containing the Tower of Chailly in the distance (1862; Belvedere,Vienna),as well as a close-up view of the tower in a thinly painted canvas where his underdrawing and squaring remain visible (1873; Mesdag Collection,Amsterdam).
Inscriptions/Markings
Stamped at lower left, "J.F. Millet".
Associated names
Thayer, John M. (John MacLane), 1944-2004, former owner.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department