Jean-François Millet was a French painter and 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 movements of Realism and Naturalism. Millet portrayed the gravity, hardship, and dignity of common agricultural laborers, but, despite being labeled a “Socialist revolutionary,” his viewpoint was less political than fatalistic. His humanity toward peasant life deeply impressed many painters, including Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat.
