Portrait of Armand Ono

Jean-François Millet is best known for his monumental paintings of peasant life, but he began his career as a portrait painter. When his family recognized his talent for drawing, they sent him to Cherbourg in 1833 to study portrait painting. After facing rejection at the Paris Salon, Millet returned to Cherbourg in 1841 and painted portraits for several years.

This portrait of Armand Ono reflects Millet's early training before he moved to Barbizon in 1849 and developed the style that would make him famous. His portraits from this period show competent technique and careful observation, though they lack the powerful connection to labor and landscape that defines his mature work.

The painting hangs at the Musée Thomas-Henry in Cherbourg, the city where Millet first studied art. Vincent van Gogh later copied more works by Millet than any other artist, demonstrating the lasting influence of his paintings of rural life.