The Plain of Chailly, with a Ruined Telegraph Tower

The flat,shelter-less plain of Chailly,which skirted the forest at Fontainebleau near Millet's home in Barbizon,was a subject favored by Theodore Rousseau and other artists active in the forest and its environs. Millet spent time walking through the plain and sketching the many activities of rural laborers there.
Millet also painted views of the vast plain with a harrow and plow and the slight mound containing the Tower of Chailly in the distance (1862; Belvedere,Vienna),as well as a close-up view of the tower in a thinly painted canvas where his underdrawing and squaring remain visible (1873; Mesdag Collection,Amsterdam).