Drawn into the Light: Jean Francois Millet [Hardcover]

Alexandra R. Murphy et al. (Author), Richard Rand (Author), Brian Allen (Author), James A. Ganz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 1999

Few artists of the nineteenth century created works as subtly evocative, as socially poignant, and as artistically influential as Jean-Francois Millet. This book examines Millet's technical and creative achievement, focusing on his rarely seen pastels, watercolors, and drawings, considering them as independent works of art, as procedural steps toward paintings, and as important elements in his finished pictures.

Alexandra Murphy explores the ways that Millet reinvented his art and reshaped the course of nineteenth-century painting in the process. Through his shift away from idealized nudes of the academic tradition to nudes in a real world, his confrontation with the physical landscape of work, and his perception of light and weather conditions that altered the landscape, Millet's pastels, watercolors, and drawings had a profound impact on his artistic contemporaries. Counted among his particular admirers were Degas, Seurat, Pissarro, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, who described an exhibition of Millet's pastels as "holy ground". In this context, Murphy discusses Millet's most famous painting, The Gleaners, which not only represents a technical and aesthetic achievement but also serves as an essential symbol of the political causes of the time: Millet's peasants have held their place in social history, she says, because they are so beautifully drawn that their gestures speak across decades, nations, and cultures.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Murphy and her coauthors share an enormous amount of art curatorial and writing experience, and the latest result of their labors is another superb art exhibition catalog, filled with fine art historical scholarship. An illustrated 30-page introductory essay and detailed catalog annotations discuss both the influence of Millet's most famous paintings (e.g., The Gleaners, c. 1857) and, more importantly, the qualities inherent in many of his influential but little-known and unappreciated drawings, studies, and paintings. Each of the 87 entries is illustrated and annotated with information about the work's provenance and selected references to books and journal articles. Anyone fortunate enough to view the exhibition at the Clark Art Institute (in Williamstown, MA), the Frick Art and Historical Center (Pittsburgh), or the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh (Amsterdam) should have a marvelous experience. Recommended for all art collections.AP. Steven Thomas, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mt. Pleasant
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300079257
• ISBN-13: 978-0300079258
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,684,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James A. Ganz is the Curator of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, a position he has held since 2008. Previously he was Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Ganz has a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, but the selection of works is limited, August 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Drawn into the Light: Jean Francois Millet (Hardcover)

This book is a catalogue for an exhibition that was held at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The reproductions do not represent the full work of Millet but rather the selection of works that was presented in that exhibition. There are many reproductions of drawings, pastels and watercolors, and only a few paintings. Many of the drawings are preparations for larger scale paintings. I bought the book after a visit to the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and was disappointed not to find many paintings that I remember from that visit - not even "The Angelus", which is probably Millet's most famous work. Still there is a large number of beautiful drawings and paintings, and the introductory text is interesting. I wish the reproductions would be larger - there are only about ten full page reproductions throughout the book.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased with the quality of the book, May 23, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drawn into the Light: Jean Francois Millet (Hardcover)

This is the first quality pyblication I have found on Millet. While I was looking for more of a coffe table type book of his paintings, I was slighlty disappointed that many of his works were not included but the history of his life more than makes up for it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning book, November 19, 2009

By 

Stephanie Sassoon "brooklyn artist" (Brooklyn, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drawn into the Light: Jean Francois Millet (Hardcover)

I first found this book at the bookshop of the Clark Museum (where the exhibit had been held). The reproductions both in color and black and white were amazing, and the text intelligent and informative. The price was prohibitive. I looked on Amazon, and found a used copy in excellent condition for literally 1/2 the price. This is a gorgeous book, a treasure! Jean Francois Millet was a marvelous artist, and his work was influential and inspirational to Vincent van Gogh.