Woman Feeding Her Child

Woman Feeding Her Child is an intimate and profound print created in 1861 by Jean François Millet (French, 1814-1875). This highly collaborative piece involved master printmakers Auguste Delâtre and Félix Henri Bracquemond, who assisted in translating Millet’s vision into the delicate medium of etching and drypoint. The finished work is rendered on ivory laid paper, showcasing the characteristic soft lines and rich burr achieved through the drypoint technique.

Consistent with his celebrated work focusing on peasant life, Millet captures a scene of quiet domesticity and maternal devotion. The composition centers on a mother providing sustenance to her child, a tender yet unsentimental depiction typical of mid-19th century French Realism. While the imagery romanticizes the deep bond between parent and infant, it remains grounded in the arduous reality of rural existence in France. This focus on the dignity of essential human acts defined Millet’s career and distinguished him among his contemporaries.

Prints such as this were crucial for disseminating the work of established painters, making high-quality impressions accessible to a broader audience during a period of intense artistic exchange. The technique employed here demonstrates the technical experimentation happening within French printmaking circles in the 1860s. This evocative image is held in the extensive print collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a key example of Millet’s enduring commitment to depicting the fundamental aspects of daily life. High-resolution records of this work are often made available through museum initiatives, effectively placing the images into the public domain for educational and scholarly use.