A Sheep Grazing 1849

"A Sheep Grazing" is an etching by the French painter Jean-François Millet, created in 1849. This print, housed at the Art Institute of Chicago, depicts a single sheep grazing amongst the fields, surrounded by a simple, almost skeletal, landscape. The scene, while seemingly straightforward, reflects Millet's interest in the lives of rural laborers and the realities of peasant life. Millet's use of etching, with its delicate lines and subtle shading, conveys a sense of peaceful simplicity.