Jean François Millet
Born – Gruchy, France 1814
Died – Barbizon, France 1875
Jean François Millet was born into a family of peasant farmers near Cherbourg. He trained locally as a painter and then went to Paris in 1837 to study under Delaroche. His early work comprised conventional portraits and fashionable eighteenth-century pastoral scenes. However, in 1848 he chose to exhibit The Winnower, a painting depicting peasant life, at the Paris Salon. It was the first of many rural scenes based on memories of his own childhood. Criticized for allowing socialist concerns to infiltrate his art, Millet stated that it was “the human side” of life that he wished to portray. In 1849 he moved to Barbizon where he remained for the rest of his life, painting labourers going about their daily business. In The Angelus, his best-known work, Millet chose to celebrate a dignified, hard-working couple at work in the fields – their heads bowed in an expression of devotion in the face of nature. Depicting his human figures with a classically sculptural simplicity, Millet’s concern was to show the pair in harmony with their peaceful and unchanging rural existence.
Masterpieces:
- The Winnower
- The Gleaners
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About jean francois millet
Drawn into the Light: Jean Francois Millet
Alexandra R. Murphy et al.
Buy on Amazon
Jean-Francois Millet
Daniel Ankele
Buy on Amazon
Jean-Francois Millet Pastels and Drawings
Laurent Manoeuvre
Buy on Amazon