Jean-François Millet

Millet’s art was groundbreaking in its assertion that ordinary men and women and the most commonplace activities were worthy subjects for serious art. Characteristically, he found beauty in humble flowers – dandelions and primroses, or cowslips, that grew on the floor of the Forest of Fontanebleau and in the meadows surrounding it. Unlike the specimens in most flower paintings, Millet’s are growing and presented to us in an intimate, flower’s-eye view.