Morning, from the series, "Four Times of the Day" 1830 - 1875

Jean-François Millet created this lithograph "Morning, from the series, "Four Times of the Day" with ink on paper. The composition, balanced between the figures and the expansive landscape, invites a reading of space not just as background, but as integral to the figures' existence. Observe how Millet uses line and texture to define the forms. The woman riding the donkey and the man walking beside them are rendered with meticulous detail, which contrasts with the more loosely defined landscape. This juxtaposition suggests a tension between the particular and the general, the individual and the collective. The cyclical nature of the day is captured through the rendering of light and shadow, which underscores the rhythms of rural life. The woman and man are not merely figures in a landscape, but embodiments of labor, the very essence of rural existence. This artwork doesn't just depict a scene, it evokes an entire world.