Portrait of Félix-Bienaimé Feuardent

Portrait of Félix-Bienaimé Feuardent, painted in 1841, is an early work by Millet dating from his years in Cherbourg before his move to Paris and the definitive formation of his mature style. Millet painted a substantial number of portraits in his early career — far more than is commonly acknowledged — as a means of financial support and professional establishment. Feuardent was likely a figure in the local Cherbourg professional milieu, possibly a friend or acquaintance. The 1841 date places this a full eight years before Millet's move to Barbizon, predating entirely the peasant subjects for which he became famous. These early portraits, painted in a style influenced by Dutch and Flemish seventeenth-century portraiture filtered through French academic training, are significantly different in character from the monumental rural images of his maturity.

Oil on canvas with a relatively conventional academic portrait technique. The palette is soberly tonal, relying on the contrast between the sitter's face and the darker surrounding field to create focus. Surface handling is more meticulous and less broad than Millet's later work, reflecting his early academic formation.