The Reaper

The Reaper is a powerful print created by Jean-François Millet in 1853. This work is classified as a woodcut, executed using the demanding technique of chine collé, where the image is printed onto a thin layer of fine paper applied to a sturdier backing sheet. Millet was deeply committed to depicting the lives of French farmers and laborers during the height of the Realist movement. Here, the artist focuses on a man engaged in the grueling process of harvesting on a farm, capturing the physical strain and rhythmic motion inherent in working the land.

Millet elevated these scenes of rural working life, treating the daily efforts of farmers with an almost monumental simplicity. Unlike his famous oil paintings, this print utilizes the inherent roughness and deep contrast of the woodcut process to convey texture and weight. The solitary figure of the man is central, representing the vast population dedicated to maintaining French farms during the mid-nineteenth century. Millet sought to depict agricultural laborers not as picturesque peasants, but as heroic figures engaged in essential, honest work. The stark lines and heavy shadows typical of the print medium emphasize the gravity and difficulty of the man’s physical task.

This example of Millet's commitment to printmaking demonstrates how he adapted his realist vision across different media while maintaining a focus on human dignity. The complete impression of The Reaper is housed in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a crucial reference point for the study of 19th-century French prints. Given the age and significance of this work, high-resolution reproductions are often available for educational use through public domain resources.