In its bicentennial year, London's National Gallery is marking the 150th anniversary of Jean-François Millet's death in 1875 with a one-room exhibition celebrating his portrayal of rural workers in northern France. A total of just 15 works – nine paintings and six drawings – offer a thoughtful introduction to Millet's study of rural working life.
Born into a farming family in Normandy in 1814, Millet trained in Cherbourg, then Paris. In 1849 he moved to Barbizon, a village on the edge of the forest at Fontainebleu; all but the first two paintings date from his time there.
