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Jean-Francois Millet
Noted for his scenes of peasant farmers, Jean Francois Millet was a founder of the Barbizon School of France, a Romantic movement in art, and was a Naturalistic, Realist painter. He learned Latin and knowledge of the major works of literature from village priests as a child, and in 1833 moved to Cherbourg to study painting. His first Salon submission, in 1839, but his second, a portrait, was accepted in 1840. After his first portrait was accepted by the Paris Salon, he returned to Cherbourg, to begin his career as a professional portrait painter. His first real Salon success was seven years later, in 1847, when he presented his panting The Winnower, which was bought by the government a year later. His success was short lived, however. The Captivity of the Jews in Israel was presented to the Salon in 1848, and it was scorned by the public and critics. This painting quickly disappeared, leading historians to think Millet had destroyed his own work.
