Portrait of an Anonymous Man
ca 1845
Before Jean-François Millet became the champion of humble peasants, he was struggling in Paris and capturing the intense faces of young men. This portrait from around 1845 features a subject with wild, dark curls and a stylish mustache, dressed in a dark coat that seems to melt into the shadowy background. The loose, energetic brushstrokes give the face a sense of immediacy, as if the artist caught a fleeting expression of melancholy. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the artist's early career, showing a flair for portraiture before he found his famous rural voice in the Realism movement.