Portrait de M. Doré

27. marts 1837 – 18. maj 1839 · Uddannelse

Beaux-Arts de Paris

1839

The Salon rejects “Saint Anne Instructing the Virgin”

His first submission to the Salon, “Saint Anne Instructing the Virgin”, was rejected by the jury.

1839

An ill fit at the École: the Louvre instead of the academy

Millet could not adapt to the academic system of teaching, tried unsuccessfully to win the Prix de Rome, lost his scholarship and had to leave the École; he then taught himself, copying works by Mantegna, Velázquez, Poussin and Delacroix in the Louvre.

1840

The Salon of 1840: his first accepted portrait

His first painting accepted at the Salon, a portrait, was shown in 1840, after which Millet returned to Cherbourg to begin a career as a portrait painter.

1840s

Gallant scenes and portraits for sale

From 1840 he exhibited at the Paris Salon, at first with “gallant scenes” in the Rococo taste. Back in Cherbourg he earned his living by selling portraits of relatives and of a few clients, and also painted erotic pictures.

16. november 1841

Married: Pauline Virginie Ono-dit-Biot