Miller's Art Of Painting

Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875) is one of French greatest artists of realism in 19 century. When Roman Rulan wrote his biographies of giants, he found that being an artist Millet really has a kind of dauntless heroism, he was so affected by Millet's love, patience, courage and faith as to write the "Biography of Millet" (one of The Popular Library of Art, press in London 1902). In 1863, Millet was called "the farmer's Dante and peasant's Michelangelo" in a short poem.Millet was born in a religious farmer's family. Most of his cognition about the life and nature was from the Bible; it has a simply and originally respectful feeling, and this kind of feeling was very representative of the spacious peasant class at that time. So his art is almost like a mirror to reflect the French peasant's life and feelings from 1840s to 1860s. It expressed the rubs and worries of peasant's life and their sentiments. We can find some original heroism in his spirit that makes him to face the tribulation. He found a kind of soberly religious and charmed complex in his heart, this kind of communion between his art and life made his works have a power of heart quake.The Scenes of life that described in Millet's paintings are too simple and natural to make you cannot find any more artistic process, but that is just a kind of beauty in art and spirit he sought for a whole life. This kind of beauty is showed in his every painting, that makes his special artistic language. The characters he painted are closely bound up the surroundings and cannot be separate, also his scenery are closely linked with the great nature to wake us by the power of flourish life. That he succeed to the classicalism; that is the soul of his art.Millet just left us about eighty oil paintings during his more than thirty years career. Actually he was not short of ardor, as he put more fever and energy to the work than others, it would not be easy to be satisfied with his works, so he re-painted again and again. We can find a lot of study works for one same subject matter in his works collection. However, that made his success; that made his paintings on the scroll of fame, such as: "Gleaners", "Sower", "Curfew" and "shepherdess".Millet showed us a glary compass of art, it's pure-hearted, honest and coruscate the flame of humanity.