Jean Francois Millet(Millet, 1814-1874) - French painter of rural life. The son of a peasant, he spent his youth among rural nature, helping his father with his farm and field work. Only at the age of 20 did he begin to study drawing in Cherbourg with little-known artists Mouchel and Langlois. On the advice of the latter and with the funds he had collected, he arrived in Paris in 1835, where he became an apprentice to P. Delaroche, but two years later he left his mentor and, having got married, began to earn money by depicting naked women in the spirit of Diaz, shepherdesses, shepherds or bathers in the taste of Boucher and Fragonard. The first paintings he exhibited in the Paris salon, “The Driving Lesson” (1844), “The Milkmaid” (1844), “Oedipus Tied to a Tree” (1845) and “The Jews in Babylonian Captivity” (1845), were no better than ordinary products the then dominant direction of French painting. But since 1848, he broke off all connection with this direction and, having moved from Paris to Barbizon, near Fontainebleau, almost never leaving there and even rarely coming to the capital, he devoted himself exclusively to reproducing rural scenes that were intimately familiar to him in his youth - peasants and peasant women. at various points in their working lives. His paintings of this kind, uncomplicated in composition, executed rather sketchily, without highlighting the particulars of the drawing and without writing out details, but attractive in their simplicity and unvarnished truth, imbued with sincere love for the working people, did not find due recognition among the public for a long time. He began to become famous only after the Paris World Exhibition of 1867, which brought him a large gold medal. From that time on, his reputation as a first-class artist who introduced a new, living current into French art quickly grew, so that at the end of Millet’s life, his paintings and drawings, for which he had once received very modest money, were already sold for tens of thousands of francs. After his death, speculation, taking advantage of the even more intensified fashion for his works, brought their price to fabulous proportions. So, in 1889, at the auction of the Secret's collection, his small painting: "Evening Good News" (Angelus) was sold to an American art partnership for an amount of over half a million francs. In addition to this picture, among Millet’s best works on subjects from peasant life are “The Sower”, “Watching Over the Sleeping Child”, “Sick Child”, “Newborn Lamb”, “Grafting of a Tree”, “End of the Day”, “Threshing”, "Return to the Farm", "Spring" (in the Louvre Museum, Paris) and "The Ear Gatherers" (ibid.). In the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, among the paintings of the Kushelev Gallery, there is an example of Millet's painting - the painting "Return from the Forest".

Jean Francois Millet found his calling in depicting pictures of rural life. He painted peasants with a depth and insight reminiscent of religious images. His unusual manner brought him well-deserved recognition that is timeless.

Jean Francois Millet was born on October 4, 1814 in the village of Gruchy, in Normandy. His father served as an organist in a local church, one of the future artist’s uncles was a doctor, and the other was a priest. These facts say a lot about the cultural level of the future artist’s family. Millet worked on a farm from an early age, but at the same time received a good education, studied Latin and retained a love of literature throughout his life. Since childhood, the boy showed an ability to draw. In 1833 he went to Cherbourg and entered the studio of the portrait painter du Mouchel. Two years later, Millet changed his mentor - his new teacher was the battle painter Langlois, who was also the caretaker of the local museum. Here Millet discovered the works of the old masters - primarily Dutch and Spanish artists of the 17th century.

In 1837, Millet entered the prestigious Parisian School of Fine Arts. He studied with Paul Delaroche, a famous artist who painted several theatrical paintings on historical themes. Having quarreled with Delaroche in 1839, Jean Francois returned to Cherbourg, where he tried to earn a living by painting portraits. He received an order for a posthumous portrait of the former mayor of Cherbourg, but the work was rejected due to its poor resemblance to the deceased. To make ends meet, the artist made money for some time by painting signs.

In November 1841, Millet married the daughter of a Cherbourg tailor, Pauline Virginie Ono, and the young couple moved to Paris. He struggled in the grip of poverty, which became one of the reasons for the death of his wife. She died of tuberculosis in April 1844, aged 23. After her death, Millet again left for Cherbourg. There he met 18-year-old Catherine Lemer. Their civil marriage was registered in 1853, but they got married only in 1875, when the artist was already dying. From this marriage Millet had nine children.

"Infant Oedipus being taken down from the tree"

In 1845, after spending a short time in Le Havre, Millet (together with Catherine) settled in Paris.
At this time, Millet abandoned portraiture, moving on to small idyllic, mythological and pastoral scenes, which were in great demand. In 1847, he presented at the Salon the painting “Child Oedipus being taken down from a tree,” which received several favorable reviews.

Millet's position in the art world changed dramatically in 1848. This was partly due to political events, and partly due to the fact that the artist finally found a topic that helped him reveal his talent. During the revolution, King Louis Philippe was overthrown and power passed into the hands of the republican government. All this was reflected in the aesthetic preferences of the French. Instead of historical, literary or mythological subjects, images of ordinary people gained popularity. At the Salon of 1848, Millet showed the painting “The Winnower,” which perfectly met the new requirements.

"The Winnower"

(1848)

101 x 71 cm
National Gallery, London

On this canvas, Millet first outlined the rural theme, which became the leading one in his work. At the Salon of 1848, the painting was greeted with enthusiasm, although some critics noted the roughness of the writing. The canvas was bought by the Minister of the French government, Alexandre Ledru-Rollin. The next year he fled the country - and the painting disappeared with him. It was even believed that it burned down during a fire in Boston in 1872. Later, Millet wrote two more versions of The Winnower, and these copies were known. In 1972, exactly one hundred years after its supposed death, the original “Windwinner” was found in the United States, in the attic of one of the houses. The painting (only heavily soiled on top) turned out to be in good condition and even in its original frame, on which the Salon registration number was preserved. It was shown at two anniversary exhibitions dedicated to the centenary of Millet's death. In 1978, The Winnower was purchased at a New York auction by the London National Gallery.

The peasant's red headdress, white shirt and blue trousers correspond to the colors of the French Republican flag. The winnower's face is in the shadow, making the figure of this man engaged in hard work anonymous and, as it were, generalized.
In contrast to the winnower's face, his right hand is heavily illuminated. This is the hand of a person accustomed to constant physical labor.
The tossed grain forms a golden cloud and stands out sharply against the dark background. The sifting process takes on a symbolic meaning in the picture: the grain of new life is separated from the chaff.

He received a government order for the painting “Hagar and Ishmael”, but without finishing it, he changed the subject of the order. This is how the famous “Ear Gatherers” appeared.

"The Ear Pickers"

1857)
83.5x110 cm
Dorsay Museum, Paris

The canvas depicts three peasant women collecting the remaining ears of corn after the harvest (this right was granted to the poor). In 1857, when the painting was shown at the Salon, peasants were seen as a potentially dangerous revolutionary force. By 1914, Millet's masterpiece began to be perceived differently - as a symbol of French patriotism. It was even reproduced on a poster encouraging people to join the national army. Today, many critics, while recognizing the painting's enduring value, find it too sentimental. The bowed figures of peasant women are reminiscent of a classical fresco. The outlines of the figures echo the stacks of bread in the background, which emphasizes the insignificance of what these poor women received. Millet's images inspired many artists who followed him. Like Pissarro, Van Gogh and Gauguin, Millet sought in peasant life the ideal of a patriarchal world, not yet infected with the corruptive breath of civilization. They all thought about escaping from the city into the harmony of rural life. In the 1850s, such predilections were not very welcome - firstly, the peasant masses were seen as a source of revolutionary danger, and secondly, many did not like the fact that the images of ignorant peasants were elevated to the level of national heroes and biblical figures. At the same time, the rural theme was quite common in painting of that time, but peasants in the existing tradition were depicted either pastorally or, on the contrary, ironically. The situation changed with the arrival of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. In particular, Pissarro was constantly interested in the realities of everyday peasant labor, and in Van Gogh the peasant invariably embodied the simplicity and spiritual sublimity lost by modern society.

Millet began with a pencil sketch, after which he began to apply the main colors. At this stage of the work he used highly diluted paints - Prussian blue and titanium white for the sky, raw umber for the haystacks, and raw umber, with the addition of crimson and white, for the field. To paint the clothes of the peasant women, Prussian blue (mixed with white) was used for one scarf, indigo (with white) for the skirt, and Winsor red (with crimson and white) for the armlet and another scarf.

Millet used Prussian blue as the main color for the sky, overlaid with mauve clouds painted in crimson and white. The left side of the sky is illuminated by reflections of yellow ocher. The earth required a complex color derived from burnt umber, burnt sienna, crimson, cobalt blue, cobalt green and white. As in the sky, the artist applied increasingly darker layers of paint where it was necessary to depict irregularities on the surface of the earth (they are visible in the foreground). At the same time, I had to closely monitor the black contours, maintaining the drawing.

Millais then moved on to the scene around the haystacks in the background. He recreated it in parts, gradually deepening the color on complex shapes and figures. The haystacks are painted in yellow ochre, with raw umber added in the dark areas; distant figures - Winsor red paint, indigo, Prussian blue and white. Flesh tones are composed of burnt sienna and white.

At the last stage, Millet returned to the figures of the main characters of the painting. He deepened the dark folds of the garment and then added the necessary tones, repeating this process until the desired depth of color was achieved. After this, the artist painted the highlights. For the left figure, Prussian blue was used (with the addition of burnt sienna for the hat); for the dark areas of her face and neck - raw umber with the addition of burnt umber and black paint; for the skirt - Prussian blue with the addition of indigo; for the hand - burnt sienna and raw umber. The red on the right figure is painted with Winsor red mixed with burnt sienna and yellow ochre; blue collar - Prussian blue and white; undershirt - Prussian blue, raw umber and white with the addition of Winsor red paint; blouse - white, partially darkened with raw umber and Prussian blue; the skirt is Prussian blue mixed with burnt sienna (to give the fabric a dark greenish tint).

Much depended on how skillfully the highlights were executed. For example, white shirts in the background create a hazy effect. This intensity of glare brings a sense of depth, making the figures three-dimensional. Without this, the image would look flat.

The richness of color in this area of ​​the painting was achieved not so much by adding new layers, but by processing the paint that had already been applied. Millet worked with his fingers, smearing the paint or removing it from the canvas. Removing excess paint that has already been used is much more important than adding new paint!

The money received for the painting allowed Millet to move to the village of Barbizon near Paris. This move was caused by the fact that the situation in the capital had deteriorated again. To add to all the troubles, there was also a cholera epidemic. Barbizon has long been considered an artistic place; a whole colony of artists lived here, who created the famous “Barbizon school”. “We are going to stay here for some time,” Millet wrote shortly after arriving in Barbizon. As a result, he lived in Barbizon for the rest of his life (not counting the period of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), when Millet took refuge with his family in Cherbourg).

Millet. Millet was also helped by his fellow Barbizonians - first of all, Theodore Rousseau, whose successes sharply became apparent in the 1850s. Once Rousseau even anonymously bought Millet's paintings at the Salon, posing as a rich American.

And yet, at first, the need made itself felt from time to time. Much of Millet's blood was spoiled by critics, whose attitude towards his painting was far from ambiguous. It became a rule for them to interpret the artist’s paintings based on their own socio-political preferences. Conservatives saw peasants as a potential threat to political stability and found Millet's images crude and even provocative. Leftist critics, on the contrary, believed that his paintings elevate the image of the working man. Such analysis skimmed the surface, without revealing the true meaning of Millet's artistic world.

"Angelus"

(1857-59)

55x66 cm
Dorsay Museum, Paris

This painting was commissioned by Millet from the American artist Thomas Appleton, who was fascinated by The Ear Gatherers. Millet painted a peasant and his wife at sunset. They stand with bowed voices, listening to the church bell calling for evening prayer. This prayer is read by Catholics three times a day. The work was named after its first words (“Angelus Domini”, meaning “Angel of the Lord”). Appleton, for unknown reasons, did not buy the painting, and for ten years it changed hands, appearing from time to time at exhibitions. Its simplicity and pathos of piety fascinated viewers, and soon a reproduction of this work appeared in almost every French home. In 1889, when the painting was again offered for sale, it was fiercely fought over by the Louvre and a consortium of American sales agents. The Americans won, giving a record amount for Millet’s canvas at that time (580,000 francs). This was followed by a tour of the film through American cities. Later, in 1909, it was bought up and donated to the Louvre by one of the French moneybags.

The man’s figure forms a “column-shaped” outline. Millet managed to paint this image in such a way that we clearly see how clumsily the man turns the hat he has taken off his head in his hands, accustomed to rough work.

The long dark handle and trident of the fork contrast effectively with the rough texture of the freshly plowed soil.

The woman is depicted in profile, which stands out against the background of a light sunset sky.

In the background, the church spire clearly protrudes above the horizon. The canvas depicts the church in Challey (near Barbizon), although in general this plot was inspired by Millet’s childhood memories. Whenever his grandmother heard the bell ringing, she always stopped to read the Angelus.

"Death and the Woodcutter"

(1859)

77x100 cm
Glyptothek Ny Carlsberg, Copenhagen

The plot of the picture is borrowed from La Fontaine's fable. An old woodcutter, tired of backbreaking work, asks Death to relieve him of his suffering. However, when Death appears to him, the old man is horrified and begins to frantically cling to life. This subject is unusual not only for Millet, but also for painting in general. However, in the 18th century it was already used by the artist Joseph Wright (Millet hardly knew about the existence of this painting). The jury of the 1859 Salon rejected Millet's work, for political rather than artistic reasons. (At that time, lumberjacks were considered a socially dangerous class, and therefore the sympathy with which the old man was depicted could have alarmed conservative jury members).

In his left hand, Death holds a curved hourglass, symbolizing the transience of time and the inevitability of death.

On Death's shoulder is a scythe, with which she cuts off a person's life like a reaper cutting off a ripe ear.
The legs of Death protruding from under the shroud are hideously thin. They're just bones covered in skin.

The woodcutter turns his head away in horror, but Death is already tightly squeezing his throat with his icy hand.

The 1860s turned out to be much more successful for the artist. His works were in great demand among collectors. Considerable credit for this belongs to the Belgians E. Blanc and A. Stevens. In 1860, Millet entered into a contract with them, under which he agreed to supply them with 25 paintings annually for sale. Over time, he found the terms of the contract too onerous and terminated it in 1866. But numerous exhibitions organized by the Belgians had already done their job, and Millet’s popularity continued to grow.
At the Salon of 1864, the public warmly received a charming scene from rural life, entitled “Shepherdess Guarding the Flock.”

The years of poverty are behind us. The artist knew fame. In 1867, when an exhibition of his work was held as part of the Paris Universal Exhibition, he became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Millet was always partial to landscape and in the last years of his life, inspired by the example of his friend Theodore Rousseau, he worked primarily in this genre.

In 1868–74 he painted a series of paintings on the theme of the seasons for the collector Frederick Hartmann. These paintings can be called one of the peaks in the artist’s work.

"Spring"

(1868-73)

86x 111 cm
Dorsay Museum, Paris

This is the first of four paintings in the “Seasons” series. Currently, all four paintings are in different museums. Millet received complete freedom from the collector Frederick Hartmann, who ordered the entire series, and therefore all four paintings are rather arbitrarily related to each other. Each is an independent work, although taken together, of course, they reflect the characteristics of each season, thereby conveying the dynamics of natural clocks. “Spring” depicts a rural garden after rain. The sun breaks through the storm clouds that are moving away, and the young foliage, washed by the rain, plays with all shades of emerald color. Lively lighting, simplicity and ease of composition create an exciting atmosphere of freshness inherent in every spring season.

In the upper left corner of the picture rises a rainbow playing with bright colors. It stands out clearly against the background of a gray stormy sky.

Flowering fruit trees glisten in the sun and seem to echo Van Gogh's trees, which he would paint in Arles in 1888. (In 1887, Van Gogh saw Millet's "Spring" at an exhibition in Paris.)

In the foreground, the earth and vegetation shimmer with bright colors, creating a living background of the picture that seems to move and change every second.

Millet's last work, Winter, was never completed. The breath of death is already felt in her. At the end of 1873, Millet became seriously ill. In May 1874, he received a prestigious commission for a series of paintings from the life of Saint Genevieve (heavenly patroness of Paris) for the Pantheon, but managed to make only a few preliminary sketches. On January 20, 1875, the artist, at the age of 60, died in Barbizon and was buried near the village of Chally, next to his friend Theodore Rousseau.

France has always been famous for its painters, sculptors, writers and other artists. The heyday of painting in this European country occurred in the 17th-19th centuries.

One of the brightest representatives of French fine art is Jean Francois Millet, who specialized in creating paintings of rural life and landscapes. This is a very bright representative of his genre, whose paintings are still highly valued.

Jean Francois Millet: biography

The future painter was born on October 4, 1814 near the city of Cherbourg, in a tiny village called Grushi. Although his family was a peasant family, they lived quite prosperously.

Even at an early age, Jean began to show an ability for painting. A family where no one had previously had the opportunity to leave their native village and build a career in any field other than the peasantry, the son’s talent was perceived with great enthusiasm.

His parents supported the young man in his desire to study painting and paid for his education. In 1837, Jean Francois Millet moved to Paris, where for two years he mastered the basics of painting. His mentor is Paul Delaroche.

Already in 1840, the aspiring artist demonstrated his paintings for the first time in one of the salons. At that time, this could already be perceived as a considerable success, especially for a young painter.

Creative activity

Jean François Millet did not like Paris too much, who yearned for the countryside landscapes and way of life. Therefore, in 1849, he decided to leave the capital, moving to Barbizon, which was much calmer and more comfortable than noisy Paris.

Here the artist lived the rest of his life. He considered himself a peasant, which is why he was drawn to the village.

That is why his work is dominated by scenes of peasant life and rural landscapes. He not only understood and empathized with ordinary farmers and shepherds, but he himself was part of this class.

He, like no one else, knew how difficult it was for ordinary people, how difficult their work was and what a miserable lifestyle they led. He admired these people, of whom he considered himself a part.

Jean Francois Millet: works

The artist was very talented and hardworking. During his life he created many paintings, many of which are today considered true masterpieces of the genre. One of the most famous creations of Jean Francois Millet is “The Ear Pickers” (1857). The picture became famous for reflecting all the heaviness, poverty and hopelessness of ordinary peasants.

It depicts women bent over ears of grain, because otherwise they cannot collect the remains of the harvest. Despite the fact that the picture demonstrated the realities of peasant life, it aroused mixed feelings among the public. Some considered it a masterpiece, while others spoke sharply negatively. Because of this, the artist decided to soften his style a little, demonstrating the more aesthetic aspects of village life.

The canvas "Angelus" (1859) demonstrates the talent of Jean Francois Millet in all its glory. The painting depicts two people (husband and wife) who, in the evening twilight, pray for people who have left this world. The soft brownish halftones of the landscape and the rays of the setting sun give the picture a special warmth and comfort.

In the same 1859, Millet painted the painting “Peasant Woman Herding a Cow,” which was created by special order from the French government.

At the end of his creative career, Jean Francois Millet began to pay more and more attention to landscapes. The everyday genre has faded into the background. Perhaps he was influenced by the Barbizon school of painting.

In literary works

Jean François Millet became one of the heroes of the story “Is He Alive or Dead?”, written by Mark Twain. According to the plot, several artists decided to embark on an adventure. Poverty pushed them to do this. They decide that one of them will fake his death, having thoroughly publicized it beforehand. After his death, prices for the artist’s paintings will have to skyrocket in price, and there will be enough for everyone to live on. It was Francois Millet who became the one who played his own death. Moreover, the artist personally was one of those who carried his own coffin. They achieved their goal.

This story also became the basis for the dramatic work “Talents and Dead Men,” which is now shown at the Moscow Theater. A. S. Pushkin.

Contribution to culture

The artist had a huge influence on French and world painting in general. His paintings are highly valued today, and many are exhibited in major museums and galleries in Europe and the world.

Today he is considered one of the most outstanding representatives of the everyday rural genre and a magnificent landscape painter. He has a lot of followers, and many artists working in a similar genre are one way or another guided by his works.

The painter is rightfully considered the pride of his homeland, and his paintings are the property of national art.

Conclusion

Jean Francois Millet, whose paintings are true masterpieces of painting, made an invaluable contribution to European painting and world art. He rightfully ranks with the greatest artists. Although he did not become the founder of a new style, did not experiment with technology and did not seek to shock the public, his paintings revealed the essence of peasant life, demonstrating all the hardships and joys of the life of village people without embellishment.

Such frankness in canvases, sensuality and truthfulness can not be found in every painter, even famous and eminent ones. He simply painted pictures about what he saw with his own eyes, and not only saw, but felt himself. He grew up in this environment and knew peasant life inside out.

Although his works are of extreme importance in art for all artistic movements. He painted genre compositions, landscapes, and created several portraits. Millet's painting "The Sower" inspired Van Gogh to create his own compositions on a similar theme. And his “Angelus” was his favorite painting, a prominent representative of surrealism. Then he turned to the images of “Angelus” all his life.

1. Biography. Childhood

Born in the village of Grushi, near the city of Cherbourg, on the banks of the English Channel. I learned to read and write at a school at a rural church. Like all peasant children, he helped the family a lot in the field. Later he would write: “The nature of this region left indelible impressions on my soul, because it retained such an original creation that I sometimes felt like a contemporary of Bruegel (meaning Pieter Bruegel the Old, an outstanding artist from the Netherlands of the 16th century) ​ ​".

2. Study in Cherbourg

Noticing the talent in the child, the parents did everything possible to get their son out of the village. He was sent to Cherbourg, where he was placed in the studio of the artist Moshel, a local portrait painter. Francois's successes led him to another workshop with the artist Langlois. He believed so much in the student, who received a scholarship for him from the Municipality of Cherbourg and the right to study in Paris. So the former hillbilly moved to the capital.

Once upon a time, his grandmother bequeathed him not to draw anything shameful, even when the king himself asked for it. The grandson fulfilled his grandmother’s will - and did a lot of useful things for the art of France, and the whole world.

3. Portraits of Francois Millet

By his first specialty he is a portrait painter. He started and painted portraits. But I felt dissatisfied. In addition, in Paris he studied with the historical painter Delaroche. He felt no pleasure either from Delaroche or from the Paris of that time. And so, because Paris is a desert for the poor. He rested his soul in the Louvre Museum, because he needed to gain experience that no one could give him except the old masters of art.

Polina Ono is the artist's wife. They got married in . Four years later, Polina will die of consumption (tuberculosis). Not everything was all right with the paintings - no one bought them. The artist lived on money from commissioned portraits.

4. Barbizon village

We didn’t go there for inspiration. It was simply cheap to live there and it was not far from Paris. The village is located in the Fontainebleau forest. Millet remembered that the peasant worked the land in Barbizon, like his father, and in his rare free hours he painted pictures. They are selling little by little. And even the Minister of Internal Affairs purchased one at a price ten times higher than the artist’s price.

But the number of outstanding landscape painters here was so large that the village became famous throughout the world. Millet also painted landscapes. And I felt that I was becoming a master, unlike anyone else. And in art this, after ability and efficiency, is the main thing.

Among foreign artists, Millet was friends with the English virtuoso Frederic Leighton, although remaining unlike him in no way.

5. Landscapes of Millais

6. Rural France 19th century

7. Gatherers of brushwood. Little masterpiece

In the Mill it is almost impossible to find large paintings: the length of the famous painting “Angelus” is 66 cm, “The Ear Gatherers” is 111 cm, “Rest at the Harvest” is 116 cm. And these seem to be the most.

The “gatherer of brushwood” also became a small masterpiece, only 37 by 45 cm. No one had ever painted French women like this. Two figures are trying to remove dry wood that is stuck. Work that deserves to be done by livestock is done by two peasant women themselves, without waiting for help. This is a scary world where you simply can’t wait for help.

The researchers were surprised - there was no spectacular composition, no bright colors. No one gets killed and no one screams. And the audience clutched their hearts. Millet turned the face of bourgeois society to the people, to the excessive labor of the peasants, to sympathy for those who worked hard and terribly on the land. He converted society (and the art of France) to humanism. And this covered both the small size of Millet’s paintings and the lack of coloristic treasures, theatrical gestures, screams, etc. The bitter truth of today returned to art.

His call has been heard. Milla became an authority on painting. And as always, some shouted about his politicization, others saw in him exclusivity, a phenomenon. His paintings began to sell well.

Once upon a time, Tretyakov acquired “brushwood pickers”. No, not Pavel, he bought and supported Russian artists, and then gave Moscow a gallery bearing his name. Pavel's brother Sergei Tretyakov acquired it and collected works by European artists. Usually he sent money to his agent in Paris, and he, at his discretion, saw something worthy, bought it and sent it to Moscow. Both discretion and the purchase turned out to be very successful. In Moscow, this is almost the only (except for another landscape) subject painting by Millet. But it is a masterpiece.

8. Two recognized masterpieces: "Angelus" and "The Ear Gatherer"

9. Millet's etchings

Millet is one of the masters who turned to creating engravings. This was not the main thing in his work, so he made several experiments in different techniques: six lithographs, two heliographs, six woodcuts. In total he worked in the etching technique. Among them there are both repetitions of his paintings (the etching “The Ear Gatherer”), and quite independent subjects. The etching “Death Takes the Peasant Woodcutter” was extremely successful, which was reminiscent of the 16th century German master Hans Holbein’s masterpiece from the “Dance of Death” series with its high artistic quality.

Millet searched for a composition for a long time. The Louvre Museum preserves two drawings by Francois Millet with the first search for composition. Another drawing ended up in the Hermitage in 1929. The composition of the latter formed the basis of both an etching and a painting on the same theme (New Carlsberg Glypkothek, Copenhagen).

10. Countries where Millet's works are stored

Sources

• Dario Durb?, Anna M. Damigella: Corot und die Schule von Barbizon. Pawlak, Herrsching 1988, ISBN 3-88199-430-0
• Andr? Ferigier: Jean-François Millet. Die Entdecung des 19. Jahrhunderts. Skira-Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-88447-047-7
• Ingrid Hessler: Jean-François Millet. Landschaftsdarstellung als Medium individueller Religiosit?t. Dissertation, Universit?t M?nchen 1983
• Estelle M. Hurll: Jean François Millet. A Collection of Fifteen Pictures and a Portrait of the Painter, with Introduction and Interpretation, New Bedford, MA, 1900. ISBN 1-4142-4081-3
• Lucien Lepoittevin: Jean Fran?ois Millet - Au-del? de l"Ang?lus. Editions de Monza. Paris 2002, ISBN 978-2-908071-93-1
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• Alexandra R. Murphy (Hrsg.): Jean-Fran?ois Millet, drawn into the light. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass. 1999, ISBN 0-87846-237-6
• Alfred Sensier: La vie et l"?uvre de Jean-Fran?ois Millet. Editions des Champs, Bricqueboscq 2005, ISBN 2-910138-17-8 (neue Auflage des Werks von 1881)
• Andrea Meyer: Deutschland und Millet. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin und M?nchen 2009. ISBN 978-3-422-06855-1
• One hundred etchings of the 16th-19th centuries from the collection of the State Hermitage. Leningrad, 1964 (Russian)
• Pushkin Museum, catalog of art gallery, M, Fine Arts, 1986 (rus)