Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys

Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys is an oil on canvas painting created by Jean-François Millet between 1872 and 1873. This significant work represents one of the final large-scale landscape efforts by the French Realist master, completed shortly before his death. The medium allows Millet to employ a rich, painterly technique, utilizing thick impasto and earthy tones to capture the specific atmosphere of the season.

The painting captures a characteristic scene of rural life, a central subject throughout Millet’s career. The composition is dominated by the muted colors associated with the Autumn Landscape, where browns, deep ochers, and rust tones prevail, suggesting the fading vibrancy of the year. A prominent feature is the active Flock of Turkeys depicted in the foreground, expertly rendered to convey movement and texture within the humble farm setting. Millet elevates this modest rural subject, moving beyond pure academic finish to achieve a profound emotional connection with the land and the changing light of the season.

Millet executed this piece late in life, a period when his focus shifted slightly from depicting the heavy labor of peasants toward broader landscape studies, though always rooted in the reality of the countryside. This canvas demonstrates the artist’s mastery of light and shadow, balancing the expansive sky and distant horizon with the detailed activities in the immediate foreground. The original painting is housed in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a major work by Millet, high-quality prints of this landscape are frequently reproduced today, often available through public domain initiatives, ensuring the image remains accessible worldwide.