Sheep Grazing Along a Hedge

Among the painters of the Barbizon school, Milllet was committed not so much to landscape per se as to depicting the daily lives of impoverished peasants and the intertwined lives of farmers and livestock, celebrating the dignity of labor and the simplicity of devout rural life. This sometimes led to the mistaken impression that he was a socialist. This painting was completed circa 1860, around the same time as The Gleaners and The Angelus, during Millet’s mature period when he was about 46 years of age. It captures the endearing innocence of sheep craning their necks to graze. The painting conveys tender affection for these docile animals, their soft, wool-covered forms rendered from behind. The warm sunlight seems to bless the gentle flock. Only the three sheep in the foreground are highlighted against a dark backlit thicket, with brilliant sunlight pouring down beyond it. Depth and economical use of space contribute to a highly refined composition. (A.J.)