Man with a Spade

Man with a Spade is a powerful drawing created by Jean-François Millet between 1850 and 1863. Executed primarily in Conté crayon on laid paper, this work demonstrates Millet’s profound focus on the reality of the laboring class. The composition centers on a working man, a peasant whose robust form is bent over the heavy agricultural tool. The spade itself, often depicted by Millet in his studies of rural life, becomes an essential element defining the subject’s identity and grueling routine.

Millet, a key figure in the Barbizon School and the Realist movement, frequently depicted peasants and agricultural life in rural France. Created during a period when artists increasingly addressed social issues, this drawing emphasizes the dignity and the stark harshness inherent in manual labor. The energetic application of the Conté crayon lends the drawing a raw immediacy, successfully capturing the weight and fatigue of the man’s stance as he pauses from his work.

This significant example of nineteenth-century French draftsmanship is housed within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While this particular drawing is a unique artifact, many of Millet’s most influential works, including related studies for Man with a Spade, have entered the public domain. This wide accessibility allows researchers and art enthusiasts worldwide to study high-quality prints derived from the artist's original pieces, furthering appreciation for Millet’s commitment to documenting the lives of rural workers. The drawing remains a definitive statement about the existence of French laborers during the mid-nineteenth century.