Jean Francois Millet (zhahn frahn SWAH mee LEH) was
born to
peasant parents in France near Cherbourg. He identified with simple
working people all his life, and painted many pictures showing them at
work. The people of his town recognized his talent and paid for him to
study in Paris. However, it didn't work out too well because he had his
own ideas about how to paint. He left and began to teach himself.
|
He finally sold a painting and was able to get enough
money to moved to
the village of Barbizon where he spent the rest of his life. He was
poor and had a meager existence, but after he died his works became
valuable. He sold The Angelus for $100, but 15 years after his
death it sold for $150,000.
|
To understand the painting we need to know something
about the origin
of the title. The Angelus was a Catholic devotion time. When the church
bell rang, people stopped their work and said a prayer. This happened
three times a day; morning, noon, and evening.
In the painting we see the man and his wife stopping for devotion after
hearing the bell from the church in the distance.
|
Look carefully at the painting. What kind of work are
they doing?
|
Another famous painting by Millet is The Gleaners
which depicts peasants picking up grain left by the harvesters.
During Old Testament times landowners were commanded to leave the grain
that fell during harvest for the poor to gather. They also had to leave
the corners of their fields uncut so the gleaners could pick up grain
there.
|