JEAN-FRANCOIS MILLET (FRENCH, 1814-1875)

JEAN-FRANCOIS MILLET (FRENCH, 1814-1875)
Woman Sweeping
signed with initials 'JFM' (lower left)
charcoal
33.5 x 23 cm. (13 1/4 x 9 in.)

Provenance
J S Forbes
With Pall Mall Galleries, London
With Obach and Co, London
Mr N L Hamilton Smith, thence by family descent

Exhibited
Possibly, London, Hayward Gallery, The Arts Council of Great Britan, Drawings by J.F. Millet, 22 Jan-7 March 1976, cat.no.71

Jean François Millet was regarded as a founder of the Barbizon school of art in rural France, composed of artists whose works were part of a move towards Realism. His artistic education began when his family sent him to study in Cherbourg with a portrait artist named Bon Du Mouchel (1807-1846). In 1837 he moved to Paris where he studied with Paul Delaroche at the ̇École des Beaux-Arts.

Millet was well known for his depictions of working class figures including peasant farmers and working women, such as the subject in the present example. It is likely that this inspiration was drawn from his time helping his father with farm work as a young boy and his exposure to social realism. In 1948 he exhibited The Grain Sifter (1847-1848, National Gallery, London), one of his first depictions of farm labour, which received a positive critical response. Following this, he continued to produce compositions of rural scenes in his unique artistic style. During this period of recognition, he became acquainted with several artists who would later become key figures in the School of Barbizon, including Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867), Charles-Emile Jacque (1813-1894), and the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875.)

His influence was widely felt by other respected artists of the time, such as Jozef Israels (1824-1911) and Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), who notably articulated his appreciation of Millet’s style and work in his writings to his brother.