"..the first celebrated picture which he painted at Barbizon [in 1850], was 'The Sower'. Long ago, in the days of his youth at Greville, he had sketched the figure of a peasant scattering grain in the furrows as he walks along. That little pen-and-ink drawing, in its few strokes, contains the germ of the future work. The pose and movement of the figure, the measured step, and outstretched arm are there already; the rusty felt hat sunk over the young labourer's brows, the very shape and cut of his clothes, the sack of grain at his side, even the oxen ploughing in the background, are all indicated. From this slight sketch the artist, after his wont, slowly and painfully evolved his noble work. He has left us several drawings which enable us, step by step, to follow the development of his idea through its successive stages."
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Quote Julia Cartwright, 1902; in Jean Francois Millet, his Life and Letters; Swan Sonnenschein en Co, Lim. London / The Macmillian Company, New York; second edition, September 1902, p. 112
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Millet
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Jean-François Millet
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