Art and artists: Jean-François Millet

We visited the Normandy birthplace of Jean-François Millet recently, which is now a museum. It's about 30 minutes west from where we are living in Cherbourg.

Millet was influential on Van Gogh, Monet, etc.

Good overview on Wikipedia here, along with links to his most famous paintings:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Millet

Influence on Van Gogh

https://mymodernmet.com/jean-francois-millet-inspired-vincent-van-gogh/

Left: Jean-François Millet, “Shearing Sheep,” 1852–3 (Photo: Museum of Fine Arts via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Right: Vincent van Gogh, “The Sheep-Shearer (after Millet),” 1889 (Photo: Van Gogh Museum via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

While Millet was a pioneering Realist painter in his own right, he became even more renowned through his influence on Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). The Post-Impressionist painter—who was active more than a decade after Millet's death—made numerous references in letters, drawings, and paintings to Millet's oeuvre, finding creative inspiration in his depictions of working-class people.

Van Gogh felt a strong connection to farmers and laborers, who he believed lived noble lives, working with the land.

Left: Jean-François Millet, “The Sower,” 1850 (Photo: Museum of Fine Arts via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Right: Vincent van Gogh, “The Sower (after Millet,” 1881 (Photo: Van Gogh Museum via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

One of the motifs that frequently reappears in Van Gogh's art is a depiction of a man sowing a field. Based on Millet's painting The Sower from 1850, Van Gogh made over 30 works inspired by this figure during his lifetime. To Van Gogh—who found spiritual meaning in the environment—this image conveyed the dignity of cultivating the land.

While Van Gogh often copied this portrait directly as a source of comfort, he also included it in paintings, like two from 1888; one merged his admiration for Millet with his love of Japanese prints—two hallmarks of his style.