The Fable of the Miller, His Son and the Donkey No. 2

Elihu Vedder

1860–61 · Graphite on paper · The American Wing

During a visit to Cádiz, Spain in 1860–61, Vedder grew homesick for Italy—where he spent most of his life— and made several sketches in which he imagined Aesop’s classic fable "The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey" set in the characteristic hill towns and scenic countryside of medieval Tuscany. For his final composition, Vedder divided the story into nine scenes. Shown here are studies for eight of them—missing is the penultimate scene, in which the miller and his son head home after the death of the donkey, presumably reflecting on the moral of the story: "Try to please all and you end by pleasing none."

Artist

Elihu Vedder

Date

1860–61

Medium

Graphite on paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Purchase, Gifts in memory of Stephen D. Rubin, 1992