VIII

FILLING THE WATER-BOTTLES


The artist Millet loved to draw as well as to paint. Black and white
pictures had their charm for him as truly as those in color. Indeed,
he once said that "tone," which is the most important part of color,
can be perfectly expressed in black and white. It is therefore not
strange that he made many drawings. Some of these, like the Knitting
Lesson and the Woman Feeding Hens, were, as we have seen, studies for
paintings. The picture called Filling the Water-Bottles was, on the
other hand, a charcoal drawing, corresponding to no similar painting.
It is in itself a finished work of art.

It is a typical French river scene which we see here, and it gives
us an idea how large a part a river may take in the life of French
country people. Sometimes it is the sole source of water for a
village. Then it is not only the common village laundry, in which all
clothing is washed, but it is also the great village fountain, from
which all drinking-water is drawn.

The women in our picture have come to the bank with big earthen jars
to fill. It is in the cool of early morning, and the mist still lies
thick over the marshes bordering the river. The sun, seen through the
mist, looks like a round ball. On the farther bank, where a group of
poplars grow, some horsemen ride up to ford the stream. They, too, are