Charles Jacque arrived in Barbizon in 1849 after fleeing from a cholera outbreak in Paris. He settled in the village alongside Jean-François Millet. While Millet painted the rural population, Jacque specialised in the livestock. One recurring theme was grazing sheep, which also meant that he had to master landscape painting. When Jacque died in 1894 he was the last of the artists in the Barbizon School.