The Angelus is another example of the Realist movement, this time by artist Jean-François Millet.
Millet captures a scene from his rural childhood in Normandy.
“I painted the Angelus remembering how, years ago, when working in the fields, my grandmother would make us stop when the bells rung so that we could recite the Angelus."
Like Courbet, Millet rejected the idea of glamourising historical subjects.
He wanted to depict true, authentic experiences.
The Angelus gives us a poignant glimpse into the rhythm of 19th century French rural life.
Fun fact : in the 1960s, surrealist painter Salvador Dali became obsessed with the painting - and created over 60 variations of it.
He was convinced that the two figures were praying over a coffin.
So in 1963, he persuaded the Louvre to X-Ray the painting...
And to his amazement, they discovered a small coffin-like shape exactly where he had imagined it!
