The Wool Carder

"The Wool Carder" by Jean-François Millet, created between 1850 and 1861, is an important example of the artist’s commitment to depicting the dignity of rural labor through printmaking. This work is an etching, documented as existing only in a single state, emphasizing the immediacy and raw quality inherent in the depiction. Millet frequently utilized the etching medium, finding that the needle allowed for a rugged, textured line that was particularly well suited to representing the difficult lives of the Working class in 19th-century France.

The subject matter focuses on the arduous daily routine of rural Women. Millet depicts a woman intensely focused on the task of carding raw wool, hunched over her tools in a shadowed, sparsely detailed interior. This elevation of the agricultural worker was central to the French Realism movement, distinguishing Millet from his academic contemporaries who prioritized historical or mythological narratives. The heavy, deliberate lines and deep shadows utilized in this piece reinforce the solemnity and endurance required by the subject matter.

This compelling print belongs to the extensive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Wool Carder captures the artist’s dedication to documenting the unvarnished realities of peasant life. As a seminal example of graphic realism, the image is frequently studied within art history curricula, and high-resolution reproductions of these historically significant prints are often made accessible through institutional holdings designated as being in the public domain.