Rating and value of paintings, drawings and engravings by Jean-François Millet

A master of the natural scene and a source of inspiration for the Impressionists, Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) revitalized the traditional landscape genre. As a theorist, this artist succeeded in freeing himself from the teachings of the École des Beaux-Arts in order to paint nature in a more authentic way.

If you own a work by or based on the artist Jean-François Millet and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers can help you.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on today's market. Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will guide you towards the best possible means of obtaining the best possible price.

Artist's rating and value

Jean-François Millet produced a wide range of works, including paintings, watercolors and prints. He mainly depicted travel landscapes, portraits and genre scenes.

His naturalistic landscapes are particularly sought-after at auction, and can fetch several hundred million euros. A case in point is his oil on canvas La Cardeuse, which fetched over €2 million at Christie's, against an estimate of €1,200,000 to €1,600,000.

Order of value from the most basic to the most prestigious

Jean-François Millet's style and technique

Jean-François Millet, a leading figure of French Realism, is renowned for his powerful and moving depictions of peasant life. Inspired by his rural childhood, Millet developed a style deeply rooted in the reality of the farming world. His works focus on the workers of the land, and his way of capturing their dignity in physical effort makes him a humanist painter who is close to everyday life.

Millet excelled in his treatment of human figures, depicting them in simple gestures, often sowing, plowing or harvesting. He succeeded in conveying the fatigue and monotony, but also the moral strength of the peasants, while avoiding idealization.

His work is imbued with compassion for the working classes, as evidenced by such famous works as L'Angélus and Les Glaneuses. These emblematic paintings testify to his attention to detail and his quest for social truth.

Technically, Millet adopted a subtle use of light and shade, often subdued to accentuate the humble, modest character of the scenes he painted. His palette, sober and limited, favors earthy tones - ochres, browns and greens - reminiscent of his favorite landscapes of fields and meadows.

This choice of natural colors reflects a closeness to the earth, reinforcing the realistic and spiritual dimension of his works. 

Drawing plays an important role in his artistic practice. Millet uses strong, expressive lines to structure his compositions, which he refines with black chalk, charcoal or graphite. His preparatory studies, often precise and detailed, reveal his mastery of anatomical drawing and postures.

Millet reached artistic maturity in the 1850s, when his style became increasingly introspective. He concentrated on intimate scenes, pastoral landscapes where man and nature coexist harmoniously.

This period also marks a search for simplicity and austerity, far removed from academic flourishes. Inspired by his own memories, he created poetic, melancholy works, revealing a certain nostalgia for lost rurality.

So, like Corot, Millet focuses on reality, while infusing his works with a spiritual and universal dimension. His compositions balance nature and humanity in a quest for authenticity that marked his era, while influencing many artists after him, notably those of the Barbizon School and the precursors of Impressionism.

The life of Jean-François Millet

Jean-François Millet was born on October 4, 1814 in Gruchy, a small hamlet in the Manche département, into a farming family. From an early age, he was deeply influenced by rural life, which was to become the main source of his artistic inspiration. His father, a pious and literate man, encouraged his interest in drawing.

In 1837, Millet moved to Cherbourg to receive artistic training under the tutelage of Théophile Langlois, a former pupil of David. Thanks to a municipal grant, he was then sent to Paris to perfect his skills in Paul Delaroche's studio.

His beginnings in the capital were difficult. Millet failed several times in the Prix de Rome competition and did not immediately receive the recognition he had hoped for. However, he persevered and, influenced by masters such as Nicolas Poussin and Eugène Delacroix, began to develop his own style.

In 1849, after meeting artists such as Théodore Rousseau and Charles-François Daubigny, he joined the École de Barbizon, a group of landscape painters of which he became a central figure. In Barbizon, Millet found an ideal setting for painting nature and the peasants who inhabit it.

Millet stands out for his ability to capture the daily lives of farm workers with a rare emotional depth. His works, such as Les Glaneuses (1857) and L'Angélus (1859), bear witness to great humanity, and are often seen as tributes to the dignity of peasants.

Unlike the artists of his time, who idealized rural life, Millet depicted his subjects with realism and sobriety, which earned him criticism from the Parisian bourgeoisie, who sometimes saw it as social criticism.

In 1867, although his works were controversial, Millet finally received official recognition. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Yet Millet continued to lead a modest life in Barbizon, far removed from the glitz and glamour of Paris.

Religion played an essential role in his life, and his deep Catholicism shines through in his paintings, particularly in the silent spirituality of scenes like L'Angélus.

His last years were marked by illness, but he continued to work until his death on January 20, 1875. The following year, the Impressionist School made its debut, and Millet was hailed as an influential figure by artists such as Vincent van Gogh, who admired his work for its sincere depiction of peasant life.

Focus on Jean-François Millet's Angelus

Jean-François Millet's painting "L'Angélus" embodies a profound, spiritual dimension in the rural world of the 19th century. In this work, the artist demonstrates an exceptional mastery of drawing, which occupies a central place in his artistic practice.

The rigorous, expressive lines he uses structure this composition. He uses techniques such as black chalk and charcoal, instruments that enable him to give life to his characters while making palpable the heaviness of their peasant condition.

His meticulously detailed preparatory studies reveal his keen interest in faithfully rendering human postures and attitudes.

Millet reached artistic maturity in the 1850s, a period when he refined his introspective, poetic approach. He oriented his work towards intimate, pastoral scenes, where man and nature respond to each other in silent harmony. L'Angélus is a perfect example.

The choice of depicting peasants at prayer, stopping their work at the sound of church bells, bears witness to this quest for simplicity and austerity.

The two figures, a man and a woman, are depicted in a humble, contemplative posture, their faces turned towards the earth, reinforcing the impression of a communion between man and nature.

As in so many of his works, Millet manages to infuse a spiritual dimension into this scene, which is nevertheless deeply rooted in everyday reality. The evening light that bathes the composition, combined with the low horizon line, lends the work an almost mystical quality.

The vast, dark sky, characteristic of this quest for sobriety, dominates the scene and seems to accentuate the modest, insignificant character of the characters in the face of nature's immensity.

In L'Angélus, Millet also shows a certain nostalgia for a rural world that is disappearing, swept away by the industrial upheavals of his time. His view of peasants is imbued with empathy, but also with a broader reflection on the human condition.

Through this prayer scene, he not only paints peasant life, but also explores the relationship between man, work and spirituality, in a quest for authenticity that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

Far from being a simple realistic representation, this painting has a universal and timeless scope that will profoundly influence subsequent generations, notably the artists of the Barbizon School and the early Impressionists.

Jean-François Millet: Angelus and Gleaners

Jean-François Millet's imprint on his time

By the 1850s, Millet had reached an artistic maturity characterized by increased introspection. His works focused on scenes of rural life, often uncluttered and imbued with gravity.

Contrary to the academic trends of the time, he rejected embellishments in favor of simplicity. Inspired by his childhood memories of Normandy, he depicts peasants at work, lending these scenes a latent spirituality.

His works, such as L'Angélus and Les Glaneuses, are imbued with nostalgia and a quest for authenticity. Far from idealizing rurality, he shows its harshness while emphasizing its sacred dimension.

This mature period also saw Millet explore the intimate relationship between man and nature. His compositions carefully balance the human figure and the landscape, creating a dialogue between the two. His peasants, often depicted in moments of work or prayer, seem to melt into their surroundings, embodying a silent harmony with the land they cultivate.

Through this treatment, Millet manages to transcend mere realistic representation and offer a poetic, universal vision of the human condition.

Millet's imprint goes beyond the technical. He influenced not only the Barbizon school, of which he was a founding member, but also subsequent generations, notably the Impressionists.

Like Corot, Millet focuses on tangible reality, but infuses this reality with a spiritual dimension. His seemingly simple works are deeply imbued with a quest for authenticity, a quest that would resonate with many twentieth-century artists, making him one of the pillars of realist and landscape painting of his time. 

His signature

Not all Jean-François Millet's works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is a first example of its signature:

Appraising your property

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