フランス北西部ノルマンディー地方の海辺の村グリュシーで、農家の子として生まれました。パリで学んだあと、1849年にパリ郊外のバルビゾン村へ移り、そこで農民の暮らしを描きつづけました。落ち穂を拾う女性たちや、夕方の鐘に祈る夫婦など、働く人の姿を、静かで尊いものとして描いています。日本でもとくに愛されてきた画家です。
Millet was born into a farming family in Gruchy, a seaside village in Normandy, northwestern France. After studying in Paris, he moved to the village of Barbizon, near Paris, in 1849, and kept painting the lives of farmers. Women gleaning grain, a couple praying at the evening bell: he showed working people as quiet and dignified. He has long been especially loved in Japan.
