Millet

An essay about the painter Jean-François Millet.

Excerpt from the book: Amongst the great painters of peasant life the name of Jean François Millet stands out prominently. Millet is an instance of an artist working out his own destiny, impelled by irresistible genius, in the teeth of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He started life with enormous disadvantages; without friends in influential circles to spread his fame or plead his cause; without money to...
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An essay about the painter Jean-François Millet.

Excerpt from the book: Amongst the great painters of peasant life the name of Jean François Millet stands out prominently. Millet is an instance of an artist working out his own destiny, impelled by irresistible genius, in the teeth of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He started life with enormous disadvantages; without friends in influential circles to spread his fame or plead his cause; without money to enable him to outlive and triumph over the ignorant fanaticism of critics and artists, so soaked in the conventionalised art of their time that they had not perception enough to appreciate the full meaning of that naturalistic movement, which was finally to sweep away the quasi-classic art they boasted of with such bombastic effusion. The path was hard and thorny, and his triumph was not finally consummated until after his death. He himself found his only satisfaction in the fact that he had lived his life according to the dictates of his genius, and had achieved the maximum of which he was capable.

This book is an unabridged reprint of the first edition published by T. C. & E. C. Jack, London, and Frederick A. Stokes Co., New York, in 1910 as part of the Masterpieces Series---a collection of essays about painters. Typeset and republished by Michael W. Gioffredi.

This book is available for free digital download at MichaelGioffredi.com/vbeu