Sketches, Fragment: Head of a Woman Wearing a Kerchief

Sketches, Fragment: Head of a Woman Wearing a Kerchief is a highly focused woodcut fragment by Jean François Millet French, 1814-1875, executed between 1863 and 1875. This intimate print utilizes the relief process on tan wove paper, revealing Millet’s interest in stark visual simplicity through the graphic medium. The specialized technique is further defined by the work’s provenance, preserved with separate matting and its original backing which features an inscription in dark brown ink on a white wove lined card.

Millet, a foundational figure in the Barbizon School and 19th-century French Realism, is celebrated for his profound commitment to portraying the labor and daily life of the rural working class. While better known for his major oil paintings, Millet frequently explored preliminary ideas and compositions through drawing and prints. This piece concentrates intensely on the head of a woman, defined by the simple lines of her kerchief and profile, characteristic of the peasant subjects he depicted throughout his career in France.

The status of the work as a fragment, cut from a partially printed block, underscores its function perhaps as a study or an experiment in isolation, shifting the focus entirely to the emotional resonance of the subject's face rather than a broader narrative setting. Created late in the artist’s life, this woodcut confirms Millet’s lasting dedication to representing the dignity inherent in the working person. This significant example of French graphic arts is classified as a print and resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, making the study of Millet’s varied techniques widely accessible, often under public domain guidelines.