Woman Emptying a Pail

Woman Emptying a Pail is a defining print by the French artist Jean François Millet (1814-1875), executed between 1862 and 1863. This remarkable work is classified as a print, utilizing the specialized technique of cliché-verre on photo-sensitized tan wove paper. This innovative medium, popular among the Barbizon School artists in France, allowed Millet to combine the spontaneity of drawing with the reproducibility of early photography. The cliché-verre process involved coating a glass plate with an opaque ground, scratching the desired image into the coating, and then using the resulting "negative" to expose photographic paper, creating a unique photographic print.

Millet, renowned for his sympathetic depictions of rural laborers, focuses here on a solitary figure engaged in the daily necessity of household chores. The figure, bent slightly under the weight of her task, is characteristic of the artist's dedication to realism and unromanticized views of peasant life in mid-19th-century France. While simple in composition, this piece captures the quiet dignity found within ordinary work, a central theme throughout the career of 1814-1875. The work stands as a powerful representation of the unceasing effort required for survival in the French countryside.

This particular impression is part of the extensive collection of 19th-century prints held by the Art Institute of Chicago. The piece reinforces Millet’s stature as a master draftsman and a pioneering figure in the printmaking revival of the period. As a seminal example of cliché-verre, the image’s historical significance ensures that high-quality prints derived from this French masterwork are often available through public domain initiatives today, allowing scholars and enthusiasts worldwide access to this key aspect of Millet’s graphic output.