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First Steps

c. 1859–66
(French, 1814–1875)
France, 19th century
black chalk and pastel on beige laid paper
Support: Beige(1) laid paper, perimeter mounted to beige(1) wove paper
Sheet: 29.5 x 45.9 cm (11 5/8 x 18 1/16 in.); Secondary Support: 36 x 50.9 cm (14 3/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Thomas H. Jones, Sr. 1962.407
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

At the time this drawing was made, many critics disparaged Millet's depictions of peasants as politically radical.

Description

In the 1860s Jean-François Millet began to add pastel to his black chalk drawings of peasants and rural life, with the hope that the addition of color would make his monochromatic drawings more marketable. Between 1865 and 1869, he worked almost exclusively in pastel, producing more than 100 works. The taste for “enhanced” or “pastelled drawings,” as Millet described them, grew among collectors and artists, and inspired a revival of the medium in the 1870s and 1880s. Here, in a fenced-in garden behind a house, parents encourage their child to walk for the first time. Delicate passages of blue, green, yellow, and red enliven the composition.
First Steps

First Steps

c. 1859–66

Jean-François Millet

(French, 1814–1875)
France, 19th century

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