La Bouillie (Woman feeding her child porridge). Delatre imprint of the original etching.
Paris: 1861. A compelling image of a loving mother (the artist's own daughter) and child, by one of the leading French artists of the nineteenth century and one of the founders of the Barbizon School. Millet is noted for his landscape paintings, embrace of nature and forests, and his powerful images of farm workers in rural settings.
Millet's daughter and grandchild are depicted in a humble home, the mother blowing carefully on a spoonful of porridge before feeding her child. The mother is Madame Heymann, Millet's daughter, who was raised along with her siblings near the lovely Forest of Fontainebleau.
The image was created at the request of Philippe Burty, artistic director of the 'Gazette des Beaux Arts'. This image is the fourth state, with "Gazette des Beaux Arts" and "Impe A. Delatre, Paris" below the etching. Signed at the lower left, "J. F. Millet 1861". Image, 5 1/4 x 6 1/2"; paper 6 1/4 x 8 3/4". Strong impression. Very good condition. Item #24432
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