Eiland, William U., S. William Pelletier, and Patricia Phagan (eds.). Charles Meryon and Jean-Francois Millet: Etchings of Urban and Rural 19th-Century France. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1994.
In this book, William Eiland, S. Pelletier and Patricia Phagan document the impact of Paris on two artists, Charles Meryon and Jean-Francois Millet, in the middle of the 19th century, with the rise of Emperor Napoleon III. Amidst the intense changes that were transforming the city, Meryon chose to focus on the city's past. In contrast, Millet found his inspiration from the rural landscape and the lives of the peasants when he moved away from the city. This book also contains a catalog of the works by Meryon and Millet.
Through their comprehensive discussions, Eiland and his co-authors place the works of these two artists within the political and socio-economic contexts of their times. The contextual information enables the reader to understand the impetus underlying their works and the impact of their works on their contemporaries.
Hedberg, Gregory. "Millet's Gleaners." Millet's The Gleaners. By Robert Herbert, and Robert Lehman. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1978. 15-20.
In his discussion of Jean-Francois Millet's painting, The Gleaners, Gregory Hedberg explains the gradual evolution of the theme of the gleaners in Millet's works. Hedberg provides a concise discussion of Millet's biographical background including his boyhood memories in the rural landscape of rural Normandy. Moreover, Hedberg discusses the earlier paintings containing the subject-matter of the gleaners and compares them with the final version of The Gleaners exhibited in 1857.
Through his discussion, Hedberg demonstrates Millet's extensive thought and preparation in the creation of The Gleaners. The stage-by-stage description of the evolution of the theme of gleaners enables the reader to see the adjustments made by Millet to illuminate the...