The Peasant Returning From The Manure Heap (Le Paysan Rentrant Du Fumier)

Artist Jean-François Millet French, born Normandy, 1814 - 1875

Date1855

MediumEtching

DimensionsOverall: 8 13/16 × 7 1/2 in. (22.4 × 19.1 cm)
Matboard: 12 1/4 × 10 5/8 in. (31.1 × 27 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineThe Sparling Family Collection

Object number2025.1.56

On View

On view

SignedBottom right corner of print: "J. F. Millet"

MarkingsOn front middle of bottom edge in pencil: "7230" On verso bottom left corner in ink: "B24602" On verso bottom right corner in ink: "NO"

DescriptionBrown line print of a peasant worker. At the center of the print, a man stands leaning forward with his back to the viewer. He is wearing a brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt, pants, and slipper-like shoes. His arms are extended down at his sides and in both hands, he holds the wooden handles of a wheelbarrow. He is lifting the wheelbarrow up and moving it into the opening of the stone wall at the left of the print. The wheelbarrow is filled with hay and manure (as can be assumed from the title) and resting on top is a tool. At the top of the stone wall, vegetation spills out and over from the land above. In the background to the right, a darker wall with a light rectangular opening in the center alludes to another room attached to the stone wall.Exhibition History"French Prints from the Tobin Sparling Collection," The Hyde Collection, Hoopes Gallery, Feb. 14-July 26, 2026.ProvenanceR.E. Lewis & Daughter, San Rafael, California; purchased by Tobin Sparling, Little Rock, Arkansas, January 31, 2007; given to The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, 2025.