This
piece, one Millet’s lesser known, nonetheless exhibits his characteristic country
realism as seen in The Angelus and The Gleaners. While early in his career
he painted more idealized scenes, his best works convey a bleaker, more realistic
outlook on the farmer’s daily struggle for survival. In this example, the snow
first strikes one as charming, but details such as the huddled birds, the
solitary chicken searching for food, and the broken fence in the background build
an austere atmosphere. Still, realism does not hinder the beauty found in the
strong contrast of the warm, living colors of the shed surrounded by the variegated
whites of the snows. Still closer examination reveals delightful blues and
yellows in the stones, or greens and pinks in the snow.
"How
beautiful it was, falling so silently, all day long, all night long, on the
mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the
dead!"
Longfellow
