© Great Works of Western Art
1814 Born in Gruchy, Normandy.
1833 Millet is sent to Cherbourg to study with a portrait painter, Bon Du Mouchel
1835 Still in Cherbourg, but has now moved to the studio of Lucien-Théophile Langlois, a pupil of Antoine-Jean Gros.
1837 The receipt of a stipend enables Millet to moves to Paris where he studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Paul Delaroche.
1840 A portrait is accepted at the Salon. Millet moves back to Cherbourg to start a career as a portrait painter.
1841 Marries Pauline-Virginie Ono and moves back to Paris.
1844 Pauline dies of consumption. Millet’s latest submission to the Salon is rejected. Returns again to Cherbourg.
1845 Marries Catherine Lemaire in civil ceremony in Le Havre. Millet is back in Paris by the end of the year.
1848 He is befriended by Théodore Rousseau and some of the other Barbizon artists. Leaves Paris during the revolution of this year and settles in Barbizon.
1850 A government official, Alfred Sensier suggests a working arrangement with Millet whereby Sensier provides him with funds in return for a regular supply of paintings and drawings.
1851 The Sower attracts the attention of critics at the Salon.
1857 The Gleaners is attacked by conservative critics.
1867 A retrospective of Millet’s work is held at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He is now financially secure.
1868 Millet is received into the légion d’honneur.
1870 He is elected to the Salon jury. He and his family leave the Paris area during the Franco-Prussian war and return to Cherbourg for the duration.
1871 Returns to Barbizon.
1875 Millet marries Catherine in a religious ceremony. He dies 17 days later.
1889 The Angelus, bought by an American consortium for the huge sum of 580,000 francs tours the USA to great acclaim.
1848 The Winnower, London, National Gallery
1850 The Sower, Boston, Museum of fine Arts
1853 Harvesters Resting (Ruth and Boaz), Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
c1855 Baby’s Slumber, Norfolk, Virginia, Chrysler Museum of Art
1857 The Gleaners, Paris, Musée d’Orsay
1860 The Angelus, Paris, Musée d’Orsay
1860–62 Man with a Hoe, Malibu, J Paul Getty Museum
1870 Killing of the Pig, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada
c1871 Young Shepherdess, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
1873 Spring, Paris, Musée d’Orsay
1874 Autumn: Haystacks, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art
1874 Hunting Birds at Night , Philadelphia Museum of Art
