Jean-François Millet (French painter) 1814 - 1875
Jean-François Millet was one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his scenes of peasant farmers; he can be categorized as part of the naturalism and realism movements. The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name from the village of Barbizon, France, near Fontainebleau Forest, where the artists gathered. Some of the most prominent features of this school are its tonal qualities, color, loose brushwork, and softness of form.
