Hamlet in a Wheat Field, Vichy

Jean-François Millet French

Not on view

In the summers of 1866−68, Millet accompanied his wife to the spa town of Vichy in central France. As he explored the unfamiliar region, he produced a significant corpus of drawings that mark a shift from the peasant subjects for which he was renowned to a focus on pure landscape. Here, the softening of the long, vertical strokes of brown ink with a wet brush conveys a sense of movement at the edge of the wheat field. The strikingly bare foreground may have been inspired by Japanese woodblock prints that the artist began collecting in 1863.

Hamlet in a Wheat Field, Vichy, Jean-François Millet (French, Gruchy 1814–1875 Barbizon), Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, and watercolor

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Hamlet in a Wheat Field, Vichy, Jean-François Millet (French, Gruchy 1814–1875 Barbizon), Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, and watercolor
Hamlet in a Wheat Field, Vichy, Jean-François Millet (French, Gruchy 1814–1875 Barbizon), Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, and watercolor

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.