Bored with scrolling through Instagram? Inundated with pictures of “Euro Summer”? Like Vincent van Gogh, you might find inspiration in the art of Jean-François Millet. Born into a farming family in 1814, in Normandy, France, Millet was hailed for his realistic depictions of rural life and the marginalized laborers and peasants around him. His muted use of light and color humanized those he painted in a way that was unique for the time; his sensitive touch encouraged empathy. “There’s an undeniably erotic charge to Millet’s paintings of gloomy hard work—reminding us that these are real people with real desires,” writes Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. On the 150th anniversary of Millet’s death, the National Gallery presents 13 of the artist’s paintings and drawings. —Alexandra Lemer