The profound influence of the work of Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) upon Vincent van Gogh cannot be overstated. One can find many interesting and diverse influences which play a part in Van Gogh and his art. These even extend into other media such as literature (Van Gogh had a great respect for the works of Charles Dickens and their focus on the working class). While Van Gogh admired and studied the works of many artists including Rembrandt and Doré, none even begin to compare to the tremendous impact of Jean-François Millet's works upon Van Gogh's.
Millet was a painter and etcher of the Barbizon school and his career runs from the early to mid-1800s. During this period he produced about 700 paintings and 3,000 pastels and drawings. Unlike Van Gogh, Millet achieved some degree of success during his career and was fortunate enough to see his efforts rewarded and his works recognized and acclaimed.
Millet's modest background had a great influence on the subject matter of his works. "I was born as a peasant and shall die as a peasant", Millet once said (although, after achieving success, Millet did learn to appreciate a more comfortable life). Millet's works are a nostalgic tribute to farmers and labourers. He felt great compassion for people who worked the soil with their own hands--it is here that Van Gogh and Millet connect.
Van Gogh always identified with the peasant class and, one could argue that he was at his most happy and fulfilled when he shared in their experience. His time in the Borinage seemed to have infused him with an even greater respect for those who toiled in order to maintain their meagre existence. Van Gogh, like Millet, viewed farmers and labourers as truly noble people and this is clearly reflected in his works.
Van Gogh began doing studies after Millet works as early as 1880. These early studies helped Van Gogh to learn the disciplines necessary in order to paint. Van Gogh felt that no one could offer him a finer example:
"Millet is father Millet . . . counsellor and mentor in everything for young artists," Vincent wrote to Theo in 1885.
Millet's influence on Van Gogh during the early stages of his career are clear. His many works painting in the Netherlands during the mid-1880s focus on weavers and peasants. The affect of Millet upon Van Gogh would diminish, however, when he joined Theo in Paris and began to socialize with the members of the art community--Gauguin, Pissarro, Toulouse-Lautrec, etc. In 1886-87 Vincent's palette came to life and his choice of subject moved from the field to the factory, from the weaver to the cafe.
Still, the attraction toward the countryside would continue to influence Van Gogh. His paintings of the harvests and sun-drenched fields in Arles have a warm and inviting presence about them. Once again, the countryside figures prominently in Van Gogh's works.
Over the period of three months, from late 1889 to early 1890, in while in the asylum at Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh did 21 copies of Millet's works. These copies are both an homage to Millet as well as Vincent's attempt to further expand his own style. While Van Gogh greatly admired Millet, he felt his copies made in Saint-Rémy had a great deal of his own unique sentiments:
"If someone plays Beethoven, he adds his own personal interpretation; in the music, especially in the singing, the interpretation also counts and the composer doesn't have to be the only one to perform his compositions. Anyway, especially now I am ill, I am trying to create something to comfort me, for my own pleasure. I put the black and white by or after Delacroix or Millet in front of me to use as a motif. And then I improvise in colour [...] seeking reminiscences of their paintings; but the memory, the vague consonance of colours while are at least correct in spirit, that is my interpretation."
As I mention on the Paintings Overview page, there is something of Van Gogh looking back during his stay in Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh, unable to find happiness in his own situation, sought it in his own past and through the works of others, especially Millet. Van Gogh was looking for a type of sanctuary while he battled his own personal demons. In many ways, Millet's works helped him to find it.
Painting Name |
Origin |
Date |
Current Location |
F |
JH |
| Evening: The End of the Day
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | November, 1889 | Komaki, Menard Art Museum | 649 | 1835 |
| Evening: The Watch
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | Late October, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 647 | 1834 |
| First Steps
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | January, 1890 | New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 668 | 1883 |
| Morning: Peasant Couple Going to Work
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | January, 1890 | Location unknown (presumed destroyed in the Second World War) | 684 | 1880 |
| Noon: Rest from Work
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | January, 1890 | Paris, Musée d'Orsay | 686 | 1881 |
| Peasant Woman Binding Sheaves | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 700 | 1781 |
| Peasant Woman Cutting Straw | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 697 | 1788 |
| Peasant Woman with a Rake | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Location unknown | 698 | 1789 |
| Plough and the Harrow, The
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | January, 1890 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 632 | 1882 |
| Reaper, The | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Location unknown | 688 | 1783 |
| Reaper with Sickle | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 687 | 1782 |
| Sheaf-Binder, The | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 693 | 1785 |
| Sheep-Shearers, The
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 634 | 1787 |
| Shepherdess, The
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | November, 1889 | Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Museum, loaned by Moshe Mayer, Geneva | 699 | 1838 |
| Sower, The | Saint-Rémy | October-November, 1889 | Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum | 689 | 1836 |
| Sower, The
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | Late October, 1889 | Collection Stavros S. Niarchos | 690 | 1837 |
| Spinner, The | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Geneva, Collection Moshe Mayer | 696 | 1786 |
| Thresher, The | Saint-Rémy | September, 1889 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 692 | 1784 |
| Two Diggers among Trees | Saint-Rémy | March-April, 1890 | Detroit, The Detroit Institute of Arts | 701 | 1847 |
| Two Peasants Digging
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | October, 1889 | Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum | 648 | 1833 |
| Woodcutter, The
Compare to the original by Millet |
Saint-Rémy | February, 1890 | Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum | 670 | 1886 |
Painting Name |
Date |
Medium |
Dimensions |
Current Location |
| Bruising Flax | c. 1850-51 | Oil on canvas | 46.4 x 38 cm. | Baltimore, The Walters Art Gallery |
| Church at Gréville, The | c. 1871-74 | Oil on canvas | 60 x 73.5 cm. | Paris, Musée d'Orsay |
| Cooper Tightening a Barrel | c. 1848-52 | Oil on canvas | 46.4 x 38.9 cm. | Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
| In the Vineyard | c. 1852-53 | Oil on canvas | 37.6 x 29.6 cm. | Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
| Knitting Lesson | c. 1854 | Oil on canvas | 47 x 38.1 cm. | Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
| Peasant Woman Baking Bread | 1854 | Oil on canvas | 55 x 46 cm. | Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum |
| Self-Portrait (sketch) | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Standing Spinner | c. 1850-55 | Oil on canvas | 46.5 x 38.1 cm. | Boston, Museum of Fine Arts |
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