Rating and value of paintings, drawings and engravings by Jean-François Millet

A master of the natural scene and a source of inspiration for the Impressionists, Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) brought a revival to the traditional landscape genre. As a theorist, this artist succeeded in freeing himself from the teachings of the École des Beaux-Arts in order to paint nature more authentically.

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Artist's rating and value

Jean-François Millet produced a variety of works, including paintings, watercolors and prints. He mainly depicted travel landscapes, portraits and genre scenes.

His naturalistic landscapes are particularly sought-after at auction, and can fetch several hundred million euros. A case in point is his oil on canvas La Cardeuse, which fetched over €2 million at Christie's, whereas it was estimated at between €1,200,000 and €1,600,000.

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Style and technique of Jean-François Millet

Jean-François Millet, a leading figure of French realism, is renowned for his powerful and moving depictions of peasant life. Inspired by his rural childhood, Millet developed a style deeply rooted in the reality of the farming world. His works focus on the workers of the land, and his way of capturing their dignity in physical effort makes him a humanist painter who is close to everyday life.

Millet excels in his treatment of human figures, whom he depicts in simple gestures, often sowing, plowing or harvesting. He succeeds in retranscribing the fatigue, monotony, but also the moral strength of the peasants, while avoiding idealization.

His work is imbued with compassion for the working classes, as shown in famous works such as L'Angélus and Les Glaneuses. These emblematic paintings testify to his attention to detail and his quest for social truth.

Technically, Millet adopts a subtle use of light and shadow, often subdued to accentuate the humble, modest character of the scenes he paints. His palette, sober and limited, favors earthy tones - ochres, browns and greens - that recall the landscapes of fields and meadows he loved.

This choice of natural colors reflects a closeness to the earth, reinforcing the realistic and spiritual dimension of his works. 

Drawing occupies an important place in his artistic practice. Millet uses strong, expressive lines to structure his compositions, which he refines with black chalk, charcoal or graphite. His preparatory studies, often precise and detailed, reveal his mastery of anatomical drawing and postures.

Millet reached artistic maturity in the 1850s, when his style became increasingly introspective. He concentrates on intimate scenes, pastoral landscapes where man and nature coexist harmoniously.

This period also marks a search for simplicity and austerity, far removed from academic flourishes. Inspired by his own memories, he creates poetic, melancholy works, revealing a certain nostalgia for lost rurality.

So, like Corot, Millet focuses on reality while infusing his works with a spiritual, universal dimension. His compositions balance nature and the human in a quest for authenticity that marked his era, while influencing many artists after him, notably those of l'école de Barbizon and the precursors of Impressionism.

The life of Jean-François Millet

Jean-François Millet was born on October 4, 1814 in Gruchy, a small hamlet in La Manche, into a farming family. From an early age, he was deeply influenced by rural life, which was to become the main source of his artistic inspiration. His father, a pious and literate man, encouraged his interest in drawing.

In 1837, Millet moved to Cherbourg to receive artistic training under the tutelage of Théophile Langlois, a former pupil of David. Thanks to a municipal grant, he was then sent to Paris to complete his apprenticeship in Paul Delaroche's studio.

His beginnings in the capital were difficult. Millet failed several times in the Prix de Rome competition and did not immediately receive the recognition he had hoped for. However, he persevered and, influenced by masters such as Nicolas Poussin and Eugène Delacroix, began to develop his own style.

In 1849, after meeting artists such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles-François Daubigny, he joined the École de Barbizon, a group of landscape painters of which he became a central figure. In Barbizon, Millet found an ideal setting for painting nature and the peasants who inhabited it.

Millet stands out for his ability to capture the everyday life of farm workers with a rare emotional depth. His works, such as Les Glaneuses (1857) or L'Angélus (1859), bear witness to great humanity and are often seen as tributes to the dignity of peasants.

Contrary to the artists of his time who idealized rural life, Millet depicted his subjects with realism and sobriety, which earned him criticism from the Parisian bourgeoisie, who sometimes saw it as social criticism.

In 1867, although his works were controversial, Millet finally received official recognition. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Yet Millet continued to lead a modest life in Barbizon, far from the Parisian mundanities.

Religion played an essential role in his existence, and his deep Catholicism shines through in his paintings, particularly in the silent spirituality of scenes like L'Angélus.

His last years were marked by illness, but he continued to work until his death on January 20, 1875. The following year, the Impressionist School made its debut, and Millet was hailed as an influential figure for artists such as Vincent van Gogh, who admired his work for its sincere depiction of peasant life.

Focus on Jean-François Millet's Angelus

Jean-François Millet's painting "L'Angélus" embodies a profound and spiritual dimension in the rural world of the 19th century. In this work, the artist demonstrates an exceptional mastery of drawing, which occupies a central place in his artistic practice.

The rigorous, expressive lines he uses structure this composition. He uses techniques such as black chalk and charcoal, instruments that enable him to give life to his figures while making palpable the heaviness of their peasant condition.

His detailed and meticulous preparatory studies reveal his marked interest in the faithful rendering of human postures and attitudes.

Millet reached artistic maturity in the 1850s, a period when he refined his introspective and poetic approach. He then turned his work towards intimate, pastoral scenes, where man and nature respond to each other in silent harmony. L'Angélus is a perfect example.

The choice to depict peasants at prayer, stopping their work at the sound of church bells, testifies to this quest for simplicity and austerity.

The two figures, a man and a woman, are depicted in a humble, recollected posture, their faces turned towards the earth, reinforcing the impression of a communion between man and nature.

As in many of his works, Millet succeeds in infusing a spiritual dimension into this scene, which is nonetheless deeply rooted in everyday reality. The evening light that bathes the composition, combined with the low horizon line, lends the work an almost mystical aspect.

The vast, dark sky, characteristic of this search for sobriety, dominates the scene and seems to accentuate the modest, insignificant character of the characters in the face of the immensity of nature.

Millet, in L'Angélus, also shows a certain nostalgia for a disappearing rural world, swept away by the industrial upheavals of his time. His view of peasants is imbued with empathy, but also with a broader reflection on the human condition.

Through this prayer scene, he not only paints peasant life; he explores the relationship between man, work, and spirituality, in a quest for authenticity that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

Far from being a mere realistic representation, this painting carries a universal and timeless significance that will profoundly influence subsequent generations, notably the artists of the Barbizon school and the early Impressionists.

Jean-François Millet: Angelus and Gleaners

Jean-François Millet's imprint on his time

In the 1850s, Millet reached an artistic maturity characterized by increased introspection. His works then focused on scenes of rural life, often spare and imbued with gravity.

Contrary to the academic trends of the time, he rejected embellishments and preferred simplicity. Inspired by his childhood memories of Normandy, he depicts peasants at work, lending these scenes a latent spirituality.

His works, such asL'Angélus or Les Glaneuses, are imbued with nostalgia and a quest for authenticity. Far from idealizing rurality, he shows its harshness while emphasizing its sacred dimension.

This mature period also sees Millet explore the intimate relationship between man and nature. His compositions carefully balance the human figure and the landscape, creating a dialogue between the two. His peasants, often depicted in moments of work or prayer, seem to melt into their surroundings, embodying a silent harmony with the land they cultivate.

Through this treatment, Millet manages to transcend simple realistic representation and offer a poetic and universal vision of the human condition.

Millet's imprint goes beyond the technical aspect. He influenced not only the Barbizon school, of which he was a founding member, but also subsequent generations, notably the Impressionists.

Like Corot, Millet focuses on tangible reality, but infuses this reality with a spiritual dimension. His seemingly simple works are deeply imbued with a quest for authenticity, a quest that would resonate with many twentieth-century artists, making him one of the pillars of realist and landscape painting of his time. 

His signature

Not all of Jean-François Millet's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of his signature:

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