Jean-Francois Millet: A realistic French painter
Introduction:
The French painter Jean Francois Millet or simply Jean Millet was born on October 4th, 1814 in Gruchy, in Greville Hague, Normandy, to the farmers Jean Louis Nicolas and Aimée Henriette Adélaïde Henry Millet. Jean showed a precocious streak for painting even if he mixed "naturalistic" and "realistic" representations.
Education and lifestyle of Jean-Francois Millet:
His early training in Latin and some key authors was completed under the guidance of some local priests. In 1833, at the age of 21, he took up a two-year training course with Paul Dumouchel, a portrait painter. Jean's next mentor was Lucien Théophile Langlois in the same town.
With a government grant of 600 Francs, the artist moved to Paris in 1837, where he studied at the Ecole des BeauxArts. He struggled a lot and endured a state of misery for years. In 1839 his license was revoked and followed by the disapproval of his first appearance in the salon.
For the next three years, starting in 1840, Jean Millet shuffled between Paris and Cherbourg after events such as the acceptance of his first painting (a portrait) in the drawing-room in 1840, his marriage to Pauline Virginia Ono in 1841, and shortly premature death of his wife in 1843 and turned down paintings in the salon in the same year.
Jean later met Catherine Lemaire and immigrated with her to Le Havre in 1845, where he painted several portraits, after which he went to Paris.
Famous artworks of Jean-Francois Millet:
Millet was only successful in 1847 with his creations "Oedipus from the tree," followed by "Aventador" (1848). He became a member of the French Academy in 1847 and found the Barbizon School together with his artist friends Constant Troyon, Narcisse Diaz, Charles Jacque, and Théodore Rousseau.
In the 1850s, Jean exhibited spectacular masterpieces one after the other, such as "Harvesters (1849)", "Heumakers (1850)", "Shepherdess sits at the edge of the forest," "The Sower (1850)", "Sheepshearers (1853)), "Farmer who grafts a tree (1855) ", "The Gleaners (1857) and "The Angelus." His most controversial painting was "The Man with the Hoe."
By 1849, Jean had settled in Barbizon with Catherine and their nine children. For three long years (1850-1853), the artist put his heart and soul into creating "Harvester Resting," his only dated painting.
This work reflects Jean Francois's change from simple peasant portraits to "realism" and captured his state of life and plight. This painting earned him a second-class gold medal at the 1853 Salon. The artist married Catherine on January 3, 1853.
Although Millet had limitations in his rather clumsy technique, his painting "L'homme a la houe" forced Edwin Markham to write a very popular poem, "The Man with the Hoe." (1898). Jean was an inspiration to several skilled artists, including Vincent Van Gough and Seurat.
In 1868 he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légiond'Honneur, and in 1870 he was appointed to the jury of the salon. In the same year, the Millets fled to Cherbourg and Gréville because of the Franco-German War, at the end of 1871 to Barbizon.
Conclusion:
The final years of Millet's life have been financially comfortable, although his deteriorating health prevented him from fulfilling some government assignments. In her later years, Millet's life improved a lot, but too late. He died on January 20, 1875. Like all great artists, Millet was misunderstood before his death but received many awards after his death.
His paintings were sold at a price he could never have imagined, and people began to admire him as he got famous. Romaine Rolland wrote a beautiful and profound biography for him, and all the art galleries in the world began to be proud to own his works.