Peasants Going to Work 1863

Jean-François Millet made this print, Peasants Going to Work, in France, a country in which rural life and the social status of peasants had become a heated topic of debate. Here, we see a man and a woman walking across a field, presumably on their way to work. Millet was part of a movement called Realism, which sought to depict the lives of ordinary people, particularly those who worked the land. As you can see, the image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. This seemingly simple image speaks to the socio-political and economic forces at play in 19th-century France, where rapid industrialization was transforming rural communities. Millet's work reflects a growing interest in the lives of the working class and a desire to elevate their status in art. To truly understand this print, we might delve into the history of French agriculture, the rise of socialist thought, and the art market's increasing appetite for scenes of everyday life. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.