Millet Paintings

Jean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his scenes of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism art movement. Born on October 4, 1814, in Gruchy, in Normandy, Millet was raised in a family of peasant farmers. He showed an early talent for drawing, and his parents sought out opportunities for him to study painting.

Millet went to Cherbourg to study with a portrait painter named Paul Dumouchel in 1833. He later moved to Paris to study at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts under the tutelage of Paul Delaroche. Despite his academic training, Millet struggled to find success in the Parisian art world, which at the time was dominated by the tastes of the upper classes who favored more polished and idealized depictions of life.

In the late 1840s, Millet's work began to reflect more of the harsh realities of peasant life. His painting 'The Winnower' (1848) was one of the first to depict peasant labour with a gravity and dignity traditionally reserved for more noble subjects. Millet's most famous painting, 'The Gleaners' (1857), shows three peasant women collecting leftover wheat after the harvest. It is a work that highlights the struggle and toil of peasant life, and it was met with mixed reviews, as some critics saw it as a glorification of the lower class.

Millet continued to focus on rural themes and the lives of common people. His work had a significant influence on later artists, including Vincent van Gogh. Millet's compassion for peasant life, combined with his ability to evoke powerful feelings of peace and solemnity, has cemented his place in art history.

Millet's career was marked by his dedication to portraying the rural class with nobility and respect, which was in stark contrast to the sentimentalized depictions common during his time. He remained in Barbizon, working alongside artists like Théodore Rousseau and Charles-François Daubigny, who shared his passion for naturalistic and rural settings.

Jean-François Millet passed away on January 20, 1875, in Barbizon. His work, which had been somewhat controversial during his lifetime, grew in esteem after his death, influencing not only the Realist movement but also inspiring future generations of artists to depict the realities of everyday life with sincerity and respect.