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Jean-François Millet
French, 1814–1875
The Knitting Lesson
c. 1860
In this domestic scene, a mother or older sister has paused in her mending to help a young girl with her knitting. Millet highlights the intimacy of rural family life as well as the importance of handing down traditional knowledge and skills. The tiled floor and leaded glass window are probably based on features of Millet’s home in the village of Barbizon, southeast of Paris, but they also echo details that appear in seventeenth-century Dutch paintings.
Image Caption
Jean-François Millet, The Knitting Lesson, c. 1860, oil on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.533
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
16 5/16 x 12 5/8 in. (41.5 x 32 cm)
Frame: 24 1/2 x 20 3/4 x 4 3/8 in. (62.2 x 52.7 x 11.1 cm)
Object Number
1955.533
Acquisition
Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955
Status
On View
Select Bibliography
New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.. The William H. Vanderbilt Collection of Modern Paintings, extended loan from George W. Vanderbilt, May 1, 1902-1919. Shinn, Earl. The Art Treasures of America. Edited by Earl Shinn. Philadelphia: George Barrie, 1879-80. . Catalogue of the William H. Vanderbilt Collection of Paintings. New York: DeVinne Press. 1886. . "The William Vanderbilt Collection.". 2.. The Collector.. April 1, 1890.:pp. 81-87.. Netta Peacock.. Millet.. London. 1905.. Etienne Moreau-Nélaton.. Millet raconté par lui-même.. Paris: Henri Laurens.. 1921.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Five: French Paintings of the 19th Century. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1956. Patricia Boyd Wilson.. Untitled article.. The Christian Science Monitor.. Jan. 22, 1966.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. Grand Palais, Paris.. Jean-François Millet. Oct. 17, 1975-Jan. 5, 1976; Arts Council of Great Britain, Hayward Gallery, London, Jan. 22-March 20, 1976. Cat. by Robert Herbert. Fermigier, André. Jean-François Millet (French & Eng. ed.). Geneva: Skira. 1977. Yuzo Lida.. Millet.. Tokyo: Kodansha.. 1979.. Brooks, John H. Highlights: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1981. Paul Hayes Tucker.. Monet at Argenteuil.. New Haven: Yale University Press.. 1982.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Cass, David B. and Michael M. Floss. Alexandre Gabriel Decamps, 1803-1860. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Laurent Manoeuvre.. Millet: Les Saisons.. Paris: Editions Herscher.. 1996.. Murphy, Alexandera R., et al. Jean-François Millet: Drawn into the Light. Exhibition catalogue. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. Simpson, Fronia. "Knitting & Fine Art" Interweave Knits Magazine. Fall 2003, Vol. VIII, No. 3. Interweave Press. 2003:p. 8. Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012.
Provenance
William H. Vanderbilt, New York (by 1879–d. 1885); George Washington Vanderbilt, New York, his son, by descent (1885–d. 1914);¹ Cornelius Vanderbilt III, New York, his nephew, by descent (1914–d. 1942);² Grace Wilson Vanderbilt, New York, his wife, by descent (1942–45, her sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, 18 Apr. 1945, no. 127, ill., sold to Knoedler); [Knoedler, New York, sold to Clark, 20 Apr. 1945]; Robert Sterling Clark (1945–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.
1. George Washington Vanderbilt placed this and a number of other works on long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1886. The works were returned to his nephew in 1919.
2. Cornelius Vanderbilt III lent the picture to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1940–41.