Who was Millet?
Millet was one of the great artists of the 19th century
His work had a real capacity to shock people
The basic premise of the exhibition is to argue for a new narrative for the history of modern art.
That's why it starts with the work of Millet
and it moves through other canonical artists.
It's suprising just how widespread his influence was
Van Gogh was obsessed by Millet
Claude Monet was greatly inspired by Millet's work
Salvador Dali produced a whole body of work which was actually inspired
by one particular painting by Millet, the Angelus
Once you start to look into his work you realize how radical it was
but also in terms of his subject matter
He was representing rural life, but it was modern rural life
and the complexities of that life
and all it's harshness and richness too
It also speaks fundamentally to the importance of human dignity
If you look at these paintings, they're about Millet
justifying the importance of these workers
In the day and age in which we live today, that is an important message
These are paintings, drawings, pastels that are coming from all over the world
You have Japan, from around America, from around Europe
all coming together in St. Louis.
It's been exciting to see the show come together.
It's really an exceptional, I would say once in a lifetime opportunity, for people to see these works.
