Few of Millet's works can rival this picture, titled The Sawyers, in vigor of handling and magic of line.

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Jean Francois Millet (1814–1875) was a French painter, who belonged to the naturalism and realism movements. One of the founders of the Barbizon School in rural France, he is best known for his paintings of peasant farmers. Among his best known works are The Wood Cutter, The Gleaners, The Angelus, and The Harvester. This painting, titled The Sawyers, is housed in the South Kensington Museum. Very few of Millet's works can rival this superb picture in vigor of handling and magic of line. He has succeeded in infusing an enormous amount of energy into two figures, without sacrificing refinement. The absolute stillness of the wood beyond is unbroken, save by the monotonous hacking of the wood-cutter, who, ax in hand, is making a determined onslaught upon a venerable tree. As an example of Millet's powers as a painter it would be hard to beat, and in it he has reserved those rare qualities of freedom and rhythm of line we find in his best drawings.

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Size: 5157px × 3567px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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