The Sower

The Sower is a powerful lithograph created by Jean François Millet French, 1814-1875, in 1851. While Millet is primarily known for his celebrated oil paintings depicting peasant life, this work demonstrates his mastery of printmaking techniques. The medium is technically complex: a lithograph created through drawing and scraping on stone, which was then printed on delicate ivory China paper and subsequently laid down onto a piece of sturdy white wove paper. This meticulous process allowed Millet to achieve the deep, velvety tonal contrasts and dramatic chiaroscuro essential to the composition's emotional impact.

Produced during a critical period in French history, the subject of the lone, struggling agricultural worker became an iconic symbol of rural labor and hardship across Europe. Millet, a key figure in the Barbizon School and the Realist movement, intentionally elevated the common peasant to heroic status, challenging the prevailing academic tradition of focusing solely on mythological or aristocratic subjects. This particular print captures the dynamic energy of the figure casting seeds, linking the act of sowing to broader themes of perseverance and toil common in mid-19th century France.

Classified specifically as a print, the stark black and white treatment emphasizes the strong, angular gesture of the sower set against a severe field. Millet returned to this central theme repeatedly throughout his career, but this powerful 1851 version is highly regarded for its visceral intensity and technical quality. This important example of French 19th-century prints is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, making it widely accessible to scholars and the public. As the work resides within the public domain, high-quality reference materials detailing Millet's expressive lithographic technique are readily available.