Jean Francois Millet Art

Jean-Francois Millet (October 4, 1814 – January 20, 1875) was a fine art artist who was born in Normandy, France. His creative works mainly captured rural life and peasants. Millet has been mentioned as one of the founders of Barbizon School. Although he had several artwork pieces, his biggest entry into the art world was The Milkmaid (1840) although his artwork that registered the greatest fame was the 1859 Angelus. Because his artistic works mainly focused on the rustic lives of peasants, Millet was branded a socialist in some quarters. Having been born in a peasant community, it's believed that his background may have had an influence in his life. In 1833, he was sent to study with Paul Dumouchel, a portrait painter in Cherbourg. He earned a scholarship that saw him travel to Paris in 1837 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Unfortunately, the scholarship was stopped in 1839, the same year his artwork was rejected by the Salon. The following year, Millet did a portrait painting that was accepted at the Salon. He’s in many quarters considered a member of the Realism art movement. Millet created several artwork pieces, some of which were accepted at the Salon while others were rejected. In the 1860s, he realized greater success, landing a contract to create art for a monthly allowance, a job he did until 1865, the same year he was commissioned by Emile Gavet, a contract that saw him create 90 artwork pieces. Millet became a Salon jury in 1870. Although he became quite successful in his later years, his failing health made it difficult for him to fulfill his commissions. To date, his artistic works remain widely exhibited in galleries and collections, with framed Jean-Francois Millet art also selling widely.