Jean-François Millet (October 4, 1814 – January 20, 1875)

                                                                                            

Spring

1868-1873

As many of the artists involved in Realism, Millet had a profound impact on many succeeding painters, most markedly van Gogh and Monet. Mark Twain even created a fictional account of Millet, a play named Is He Dead?, in which Millet fakes his own death in an attempt to increase his pieces' prices. The paintings of Millet are notable for their sombre tones, creating the perception, at least in my mind, that Millet was living in a perpetual dusk. Otherwise, his pieces have a certain smoothness of character that is nearly, but not quite Impressionistic. 

The Two Bathers

1848 

Norman Milkmaid at Gréville

1871 

Woman Sewing by Lamplight

1870-1872

Offering to Pan

1845