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Your galleryWoman Feeding Chickens
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Trace the woman’s extended arm toward the chickens at lower left, then follow the folds of her clothing back toward her body.
Millet builds this small rural scene around a single action: the woman’s hand reaches outward as the chickens gather below. Her bent posture and layered clothing stand against a roughly described wall. The limited earth colors keep attention on gesture and the relationship between the standing figure and animals near her feet.
Oil on canvas · 45.8 × 38.2 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Barbizon School
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Woman Feeding Chickens
- Artist
- Jean-François Millet (French, 1814–1875)
- Date
- 1846-48
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 45.8 × 38.2 cm (18 1/4 × 15 in.); Framed: 57.2 × 49.6 × 5.8 cm (22 1/2 × 19 1/2 × 2 1/4 in.)
- Credit line
- Henry Field Memorial Collection
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.