Millet

Overview

Jean-François Millet (1814–1875), French painter of the Barbizon school, painter of peasants (The Gleaners, The Angelus); born at Gruchy, died at Barbizon (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-François_Millet). Not the sculptor Aimé Millet.

Relevance to Marie

Stub replaced. The exhibition identification is from the existing RSR at 100.0161 (Van Gogh Letters, note to letter 358, citing the 1883 catalogue); Millet's life data from Wikipedia as cited. 102.0259 (Bastien's pictures, Jouy) mentions no Millet in the text read - possible TAG ISSUE, see lists. Millet is not in the Mon Journal indexes under a page list read.

References in Diary

Millet is Marie's yardstick for Bastien-Lepage, her idol. She calls both «poètes» (098.0510, 15 March 1883). At the Georges Petit exhibition Cent chefs-d'œuvre (June 1883) she goes out in her mourning veils «pour voir Millet que je ne connaissais pas du tout et dont on m'assourdissait» (100.0163); Bastien is only «le faible imitateur», she had been told (100.0163), yet the six Millets she counts show «l'ensemble, l'harmonie, l'air, la fluidité» (100.0165). She wonders whether the world would deify Millet if he were alive (100.0167), discusses him with Tony: he is «l'impression et l'expression poétique de la nature» (100.0178). Later Millet is among the creative geniuses she lists, «mais ils sont morts» (102.0425), and in a quarrel on the public's taste she asks whether the public ever loved Millet, Rousseau, Corot before they were fashionable (103.0044, 103.0046; 105.0198).