Peasants Going to Work

Peasants Going to Work is a masterful 1863 print by Jean François Millet, executed in collaboration with the renowned Parisian printer Auguste Delâtre. This compelling image utilizes the complex intaglio techniques of etching and drypoint, rendered onto ivory wove parchment paper. Millet, a seminal figure in 19th-century French art, specialized in creating unvarnished depictions of agricultural labor, aligning him firmly with the Realist movement and the Barbizon School.

The composition captures two figures moving purposefully across a barren field at dawn, weighted down by the implements of their agrarian existence. Millet’s application of drypoint, which scratches directly into the copper plate, creates deep, velvety lines that lend the figures a sculptural quality, emphasizing the physical rigor and solemn dignity of their toil. This piece, created during a period of intense social change in France, rejected the academic preference for historical or mythological subjects, instead focusing on the daily realities faced by the rural working class.

Unlike some of his large-scale paintings, Millet produced a considerable number of prints throughout his career. These smaller, more readily distributed works, such as this one, ensured his powerful social commentary reached a wider audience. Today, the enduring impact of this classic image means that versions are frequently reproduced and available through public domain collections worldwide. This iconic portrayal of rural existence, Peasants Going to Work, is a vital example of French 19th-century printmaking, housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.