Jean-Francois Millet

Jean François Millet began his life in the year 1814. He was born the son of a farmer in the Norman town of Greville. Millet’s early childhood was marked by his genius in drawing and painting. Viewers of his art were astounded that a boy so young could create such work. In his early days he studied the style and technique of the masters Poussin and Eustache Le Sueur. During these years he began intermittent studies with a Cherbourg portrait painter.

Millet’s later years proved to be some of his happiest and his most successful. In 1868, Millet was made an honorary member of the Société lîbre des Beaux-Arts in Brussels Belgium. During the same year, in his native France, Millet was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur. He was also commissioned to finish some of the works left undone by his friend Rousseau, who had recently died. The following year, his painting Woman Feeding her Child was sent to the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Marseilles. This was believed to be the first of his paintings put into a public museum. In 1870 he attended the last Salon of his life. At his final Salon, Millet not only served on the jury, but also exhibited his works Woman Churning Butter and November. In July of 1870, the Franco-Prussian war broke out, forcing Millet to flee to Cherbourg. In 1873, Millet fell seriously ill, and just two years later, he died. His funeral was attended by both friends and family and he was laid to rest next to his friend and fellow painter Rousseau. Although towards the end of his life, he started using a lighter palette and freer brushstrokes, his technique never reached the level of the Impressionists. His legacy would continue though, through artists such as Seurat and Van Gogh who were great admirers of his, and studied his works in great depth.