Jean-François Millet: The Painter of the Ploughman Jean-François Millet (1814–1875) stands as a pivotal figure in 19th-century French art, renowned for his profoundly human depictions of rural life. Born into a modest farming family in Gruchy, near Cherbourg, Normandy, Millet’s early existence was inextricably linked to the rhythms and realities of the land. This formative experience would deeply inform his artistic vision, shaping his enduring fascination with the dignity and resilience of peasant laborers—a subject largely absent from the prevailing artistic trends of his time. His life wa…