The Gleaners: A Painting by Jean-Francois Millet
A peasant scene by a peasant artist
Jean-Francois Millet (1814–75) was born in Normandy to a family of farm workers, and his first experience of work was alongside his peasant father in the fields. However, he sought to better himself and at the age of 18 he began to study painting, first in Cherbourg and then in Paris.
His early works were influenced by the subject matter of his Paris tutor Paul Delaroche, and therefore featured historical scenes as well as several portraits. However, none of these early works attracted much attention.
In 1848 he discovered his true metier by exhibiting “The Winnower”, after which he moved to Fontainebleau and produced the series of scenes of rural life on which his reputation rests. He was inspired in part by the artist Honoré Daumier, who produced unsentimental paintings of the urban and rural poor, but his childhood memories provided the greater inspiration.
Although Millet’s work was admired by his fellow artists, he did not receive popular acclaim until 1867, when nine of his paintings were exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle. He therefore spent most of his life in extreme poverty.
