At the age of six he was sent to school. When he was twelve years old, the priest of the village became interested in him and offered to teach him Latin. Millet was only too glad to accept this offer, and many a happy evening the two spent thus together. But his studies were frequently interrupted by his work on the farm, for since he was the eldest son his father depended most upon him. It was the custom in France among the peasants to take a daily hour of rest from their labors. But the boy Millet, instead of sleeping, spent the hour in drawing the homely scenes around him.
One Sunday morning, coming home from church, Millet met an old man who walked very slowly, his back bent over a cane. We have all seen just such old men, and their feebleness has aroused our sympathy and respect. It is not strange, then, that something about this bent figure appealed to young Millet so strongly that he could not resist the desire to draw a portrait of the man.
He drew the portrait on a stone wall, with a piece of charcoal, and so well that people passing on their way home from church recognized it at once and were very much surprised and pleased. His father, perhaps, was the most delighted of all, for once he himself had wished to be an artist. Now he determined that his son should have the chance.
We are sure Millet never forgot that day when the father, mother, grandmother, and his brothers and sisters sat around the table after dinner and talked about his wonderful picture and what they could do to help him become a great painter. And when it was finally decided that his father should take him to the artist (Mouchel) in the next village, you may be sure he worked hard on the drawings he was to take with him. At last the day came for the journey, and the proud father and his happy son set out on foot for the home of the artist.
When shown the drawings Mouchel at first refused to believe the boy had made them, they were so good. Finally convinced, he was glad indeed to take Millet as one of his pupils. But Millet studied with him only two months when his father died and he was obliged to return home to take his father's place on the farm as best he could.
By this time the people of the village had become so much interested in his paintings that they decided to help him. So they raised a large sum of money, sent him back to the artist to study, and finally sent him to the great city of Paris, France. But although he painted wonderful pictures which are worth thousands of dollars to-day, his style of art was not appreciated then and would not sell, and he was glad to paint portraits for a few francs each in order to make a living. His life in Paris was a continuous struggle with poverty, and at last he decided to leave. With his wife and children he settled in a little three-roomed cottage at Barbizon, a tiny little village near a great forest and only a day's journey from Paris.
Here was Millet's home all the rest of his life. Although still very poor, the family did not starve, as they came so near doing while they lived in Paris, for the garden and the fruit trees always provided them with something to eat.
At that time the popular artists were painting beautiful pictures of lovely women and men of the nobility in their fine clothes, or of wonderful saints and angels, and pictures showing only the happier side of life. To them Millet's pictures came as a shock, bringing to mind the dirt and grime of the common, everyday tasks of the poorer French peasants. And, more than that, he made them realize the dreadful condition in which the French Revolution had left many of these same peasants, and that was something of which they did not care to be reminded. So they refused to buy his pictures, and it was not until the last ten years of his life that Millet received a little of the recognition and honor that he so richly deserved. With his increasing fame came better financial conditions, and in 1867 he received the ribbon of the Legion of Honor.
Questions about the artist. Who painted this picture? In what country did he live? Tell about his mother and father. Who took care of Millet when he was a boy? What pictures did he copy? Where did he draw them? With what did he draw? Who encouraged him? What did the priest teach him? Tell about the picture of the old man leaning on the cane. Where did he draw this picture? Who saw it? Why do you think it must have been a good likeness? How did Millet's father feel about it? What did he do? How did they travel? What did the artist think? How long did Millet study with him? Why did he return home? What did his neighbors do for him? What was he obliged to paint for a living? Where did he move? What kind of pictures were the popular artists of that day painting? Why were Millet's pictures not popular? When were his pictures appreciated? Why have his pictures outlived those of the popular artists of that time?