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The Angelus
By Jean Francois Millet

The Angelus
By Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875)
In the Louvre, Paris

Millet was one of the famous group of French painters who founded what is now known as the "Barbizon" School. He was the son of a peasant farmer, and his outlook was coloured by the incidents of peasant life which find such eloquent expression in his pictures. His work is distinguished by an absolute truthfulness to Nature which was the guiding principle of his life. He saw the peasant bent at his work in the fields, and he pictured him in all his gaunt poverty and weariness, while he invested him, by his inspired vision, with the symbolical dignity of labour. Thus, in painting life, Millet reveals the sublime in the commonplace, the promise hidden in the pain, and the mercy that hovers over sorrow.

"The Angelus" completes a series of three pictures by Millet which are considered his masterpieces. "The Sowers" typifies the labourer going forth bearing good seed with him "The Gleaners" shows the end of the harvest which has supplied the people's wants and left something over for the needy. "The Angelus" depicts the labourers' thanks for the gift of plenty.

The last picture is the most popular of all the works of this artist, and it expresses in full measure the simplicity and devoutness of his nature. His wish was to make the spectator realise the vesper hour, when the soft chimes call the toiler to thankful rest. The man and the woman have worked well, as their full sacks bear witness, and they are bending their heads in gratitude to their Creator for His gifts. On a small canvas, twenty-five inches long and twenty-one inches high, the painter has created a scene that is at once a prayer and an inspiration, which will hold its strong appeal as long as the colours last.

From the book "Famous Paintings" printed in 1913.

Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
(Firefox users must click again on the large photo to see the very large image.)

Online "Name the Painting"

Jean-Francois Millet
at the ArtChive

Millet Biography
at the Web Museum, Paris

Jean-Francois Millet
at Wikipedia

Millet Links
at ArtCyclopedia

Jean-Francois Millet
Life and Work

Jean-Francois Millet
pronunciation

Page Comments

Most Recent Comments ( See more comments on this page )
2016-07-14 I have a wooden puzzle with the Angelus prine by Millet on it. It was made in Wethersfield, Ct but do not know the date. I would like the know how old it is. Thank you. It's a beautiful wooden puzzle and had been put away for a long time. It ame in a black box with the name of the manufacturer on it. Janet Turner
2011-03-16 I have this painting in my kitchen (by Home Interiors) Love it! Sharon
2011-02-14 This painting is amazing to me. I chose it for a school project.

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Famous Paintings in this Series

M. Bompard A Prayer to the Madonna	Botticelli The Madonna and Child	Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid	Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones The Mill
Jean Charles Cazin Ishmael	John Constable Boat-Building Near Flatford Mill	John Crome On the Skirts of the Forest	Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret The Blessed Bread
Theophile Emanuel Duverger Alone	C.W. Furse Diana of the Uplands	W.H. Gore "'Listed"	Peter Graham A Rainy Day
Jean Baptiste Greuze The Listening Girl	Sir James Guthrie A Highland Funeral	Frans Hals A Man With a Glove In His Hand	Hans Holbein the Younger The Ambassadors
Henry Holiday Dante and Beatrice	Sir Edwin Landseer Suspense	Sir Edwin Landseer A Naughty Child	H.H. La Thangue Mowing Bracken
Sir Thomas Lawrence Caroline of Brunswick, Queen of George IV.	G.D. Leslie Sun and Moon Flowers	J. Seymour Lucas Flirtation	Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier The Print Collector
Jean Francois Millet The Angelus	Jean Francois Millet Going to Work	Sir William Quiller Orchardson The Farmer's Daughter	Ralph Peacock Ethel
Rembrandt His Own Portrait	Sir Joshua Reynolds The Infant Samuel	Sir Joshua Reynolds The Strawberry Girl	George Romney The Parson's Daughter
W. Dendy Sadler A Good Story	W. Dendy Sadler Friday	William Small The Last Match	J.M. Swan On the Alert, Lioness and Cubs
J.M.W. Turner Peace: Burial at Sea of the Body of Sir David Wilkie	J.M.W. Turner Rain Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway	Velazquez Portrait of a Spanish Lady "La Femme a L'Eventail"	Frederick Walker The Vagrants
George Frederick Watts Hope	James McNeill Whistler My Mother	Anders Zorn A Fisherman	Index Page Famous Paintings