Two Men on a Rocky Shore c. 1854

Jean-François Millet made this drawing of Two Men on a Rocky Shore using graphite on paper. With just a few simple lines, the artist captures two figures in a coastal landscape. Millet was a master of brevity, of doing more with less. The softness of graphite allows him to build up tone and texture, almost like the fleeting impression of figures against the vastness of nature. The pressure of the artist’s hand brings the scene to life, creating an expressive work with minimal means. Millet is often associated with rural life and the representation of peasants, so this subject is a bit different for him. Yet it shares the same directness and the same interest in people making their way in the world by the sweat of their brow. We can appreciate the labor involved both in the scene and in the making of the artwork itself, and understand it as a meditation on the human condition.