The sower, the woodcutter, a shepherd girl. These are the subjects that made French artist Jean-Francois Millet famous. Jenny will look at his life and some of his best loved paintings and drawings and the context in which he worked in the village of Barbizon in the Fontainebleau Forest in 1849. There he became one of the most significant painters associated with C19th Barbizon school, who were the precursors to Impressionism. Indeed, his work inspired artists like Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro and Vincent van Gogh greatly admired him, making many copies of his work.
This exhibition (7th August – 9th October 2025) in Room 1 of the National Gallery called ‘Millet: Life on the Land’ will show the exceptional technique of Millet, particularly as a prolific and accomplished draughtsman, and will show how he portrayed figures of rural workers with great nobility and grandeur, conferring them a status usually reserved for figures from history.
An outstanding loan from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, of L’Angélus (1857?9) (pictured above) will be the centrepiece of the exhibition and several works from around the UK have been gathered together for the first time. This is not a ‘blockbuster’ show but a focused one you can just visit this autumn. If you do so, you will hopefully experience the beauty and quiet power of these works and Jenny’s talk will serve as a ‘know before you go’.
To reserve a spot, please contact Jean Stanley at [email protected]
