Chronology

Date

Event

October-4, 1814

Born into a peasant family in Gruchy, Greville-Hague (Normandy). Two local priests taught Millet modern literature and Latin.

1833

Millet was sent to Cherbourg to study with portrait painter, Paul Dumouchel.

1835

Millet began studying full time with Lucien-Theophile Langlois, a pupil of Baron Gros in Cherbourg.

1837

Provided a stipend, Millet was enabled to move to Paris and begin his studies at the École des Beaux Arts with Paul Delaroche.

1839

Millet’s scholarship ended in 1839 and his first submission to the Salon was rejected.

1840

Returning to Cherbourg to paint, Millet’s first portrait was accepted at the Salon.

1841

Upon marrying Pauline-Virgine Ono, Millet moved with his new wife to Paris.

1843

After being rejected from the Salon again and following the death of his young wife, Pauline-Virgine, Millet returned to Cherbourg.

1845

Millet moved to La Havre with his new companion, Catherine Lemarie (they would be married in a civil ceremony in 1853). Together the two had nine children. fter living in La Havre a few months, Millet moved his family to Paris, where he began focusing on portraits and genre pieces. It was here that he befriended Narcisse Diaz, Charles Jacque and Theodore Rousseau and began his association with the Barbizon School.

1847

The painting, Oedipus Taken Down from the Tree, became Millet’s first accepted into the Salon.

1848

Millet’s painting Winnower was purchased by the French government. The same year Captivity of the Jews in Babylon was accepted into the Salon, but widely despised by critics and patrons alike.

1849

Millet was commissioned by the French government to paint, The Harvesters. Transitioning into a more realistic and personal approach, Millet showed Shepherdess Sitting at the Edge of the Forestat the Salon. The same year, Millet and his family settled in Barbizon.

1850

In exchange for supplies and steady money, Millet began producing paintings and drawings for Sensier. Despite the arrangement, Millet maintained the right to sell to other patrons. The Haymakers The Angelus and The Sower were both included in the 1850 Salon.

1850-53

During these years, Millet worked on Harvesters Resting (Ruth and Boaz), the painting that he considered to be his most important. Harvesters Resting marks a substantial transition from symbolic imagery to documenting contemporary social issues. Harvesters Resting was the first of Millet’s paintings to garner official recognition and resulted in his receipt of the 2nd class medal at the 1853 Salon.

1857

Millet’s The Gleaners was completed after an earlier, vertical version in 1854 and an etching in 1855-56.The Gleaners was distinct for its portrayal of the women in the painting -- poor by status, with the same respect typically reserved for the wealthy and/or noble.

1857

Millet began painting Prayer for the Potato Crop, commissioned by Thomas G. Appleton in the summer of 1857. When his client failed to pick up the piece by 1859, the painting was renamed The Angelus. It was first shown in 1865.

1860

In the early 1860s, Millet was contracted to paint 25 paintings a month for a stipend. He would maintain this arrangement for the next three years.

1865

Emile Gavet began commissioning pastels, resulting in over 90 commissioned pieces.

1867

Exposition Universelle hosted a major exhibition of Millet’s works including nine paintings.

1868

Frederic Hartmann commissioned Four Seasons for 25,000 francs. The same year, Millet was named Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.