Study of the Figures of Two Peasant Women

This study of a figure, drawn in broken contours and repeated, can be connected to Millet's depiction of two washerwomen in a painting from ca. 1855 in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (06.2422). The artist worked on the idea for the composition for several years before producing the canvas, making numerous studies. In the painting, one woman stands on a rocky hillock alongside a rack for hanging wet laundry as she piles the garments onto the shoulders of her taller companion. They work along the edge of a pond, and the low boat with a man dredging for sand can be seen in the distance.