fr:Alfred Sensier on Jean-François Millet

“The schooling of [the young] Millet, begun by the good vicar Jean Lebrisseux.. ..He was soon obliged to be a serious help to his father, and to devote all his time to the rough farm-work. He was the eldest of the sons, and in this lay a duty which Francois accepted without regret. He began to work beside his father and the 'hands', to mow, make hay, bind the sheaves, thresh, winnow, spread manure, plow, sow, - in a word, all the work which makes the daily life of the peasant. So he spent years...[ till Millet was c. 18 years old]”

“When the Exhibition [Salon of the Louvre in Paris, 1840 - his work was rejected] closed he went back to see his Normandy, with the desire to stay and try to get a living at Cherbourg, and be near his family. It was not the first time that he returned. Almost every year he went to breathe his native air and stay some weeks in Gruchy [near the coast of Normandy, with his mother and grandmother, who already thought him a wonder, as the Cherbourg papers had spoken of him. In 1838 and 1840 he made several portraits of his family and friends —his mother and grandmother, who were living with one of his brothers. He made two portraits of his grandmother, one a drawing, life size, characterized by a strong expression of austerity. Millet worked on it with great care, as a labor of love. He wanted, he said, to 'show the soul' of his grandmother.”

“'Every subject is good', he [Millet] said. 'All we have to do is to render it with force and clearness. In art we should have one leading thought, and see that we express it in eloquent language, that we keep it alive in ourselves, and impart it to others as clearly as we stamp a medal. Art is not a pleasure-trip; it is a battle, a mill that grinds. I am no philosopher. I do not pretend to do away with pain, or to find a formula which will make me a Stoic, and indifferent to evil. Suffering is, perhaps, the one thing that gives an artist power to express himself clearly.'' He spoke in this manner for some time and then stopped, as if afraid of his own words. But we parted, feeling that we understood each other, and had laid the foundations of a lasting friendship.”