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Jean-François Millet was another influential figure in the Realism art movement of the 19th century. Born in 1814 in France, Millet is best known for his paintings depicting rural life, particularly the lives of peasants and laborers.
Millet’s upbringing in rural France deeply influenced his artistic sensibilities, and he developed a profound empathy for the struggles of the rural poor. His paintings often portray scenes of farm labor, harvesting, and rural rituals with a sense of dignity and respect for the subjects.
One of Millet’s most famous works is “The Gleaners” (1857), which depicts three peasant women gathering leftover grain from a harvested field. This painting is celebrated for its portrayal of the dignity of labor and the resilience of the rural poor.
Millet’s work often carries a social and political message, highlighting the disparities between the wealthy landowners and the impoverished peasantry. Despite the simplicity of his subjects, Millet imbued his paintings with a sense of monumentality and gravitas, elevating the everyday lives of his subjects to the realm of the timeless and universal.
In addition to his paintings of rural life, Millet also produced a series of powerful drawings and prints that further explored themes of labor, poverty, and human dignity.
Millet’s commitment to portraying the realities of rural life without sentimentality or idealization made him a leading figure in the Realism movement. His work had a profound impact on later generations of artists and continues to be celebrated for its sincerity, empathy, and social consciousness.