Jean-François Millet
(1814-1875)
 

Landscape with Two Peasant Women
 

Jean-François Millet was a French painter, born in the rural village of Gruchy in Normandy, France. Millet is best known for painting scenes of peasant workers and helping to found the Barbizon school.

Logger Preparing Bundles of Sticks
 

Millet began his education by studying under village priests, who tutored him in Latin and modern literature. In 1833 Millet moved to Cherbourg to study painting with the portrait artist, Paul Dumouchel. Millet proved to be a talented artist and continued to study under various painters. By 1837, Millet’s instructors funded his move to Paris, enabling him to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Millet exhibited in the 1840 Salon in Paris before returning to Cherbourg to continue working as a portrait painter.

The Hay Bundlers
 

After a series of emotional setbacks in Cherbourg and Paris, Millet married Catherine Lemaire and settled in the rural village of Le Havre, an ideal setting for Millet’s genre paintings. By 1949 Millet began to receive recognition for his work, exhibiting in the Salon and completing a state commission. Millet and his wife decided to move to Barbizon, where he eventually helped to establish the widely known, Barbizon school. During this time period Millet painted two of his masterpieces, “Angelus” and “The Gleaners”. Both paintings have become internationally known images, often used to promote worker rights and labor movements. Throughout the late 1800s, Millet’s career and reputation continued to grow. Wealthy patrons commissioned Millet to complete a large number of oils and pastels.

Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Man
 

(Green, Green)The Nun’s Parrot, 1839
 

Millet was chosen to exhibit three paintings in the Exposition Universelle, including “The Gleaners”, “Angelus” and “Potato Planters”.

Angelus, 1859
 

Millet is known as a master painter and has inspired generations of artists from Vincent Van Gogh to Georges Seurat. Millet’s images are frequently reproduced and used for commercial purposes in present day culture.

Wool Spinner
 

Shepherdess
 

Spring
 

Woman shepherding her herd
 

Gleaners
 

Sketch for Gleaners
 

Self-Portrait
 

The Charcoal Burner’s Hut
 

Woman with a Rake
 

Forest Worker
 

Woman in the Window
 

Collecting Brushwood
 

Woman making bread
 

Castel Vendon
 

Sheep Pen, Moonlight
 

Woman Sewing by Lamplight
 

Afternoon Nap
 

The Goose Girl
 

Maternal Care
 

Millet’s paintings are now in major collections across the globe, including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Currently there are known to be around 700 paintings and 3,000 works on paper by Jean-Francois Millet. Do you think you may own a painting or a work by Millet? Our researchers can help you find out. Contact us. We are the Jean-François Millet experts.

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