Where Is The Angelus? See It at Musée d'Orsay

Q: Where can I see The Angelus?

It's at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Jean-François Millet painted it between 1857 and 1859. It became one of the most widely reproduced images in 19th-century France.

Q: What does The Angelus depict?

A peasant couple pausing from work in a potato field at dusk to pray the Angelus, a Catholic devotion said three times daily when church bells ring. The man holds his hat. The woman bows her head. A wheelbarrow and basket of potatoes sit beside them. A distant church steeple marks the horizon.

Q: Why did Salvador Dalí become obsessed with it?

Dalí was fixated on The Angelus, calling it 'the most troubling painting in the world.' He wrote a book arguing the couple was praying over a dead child's coffin, not a basket. X-ray analysis later revealed Millet had originally painted a small coffin-like shape that he painted over.

Q: How big is the painting?

It's surprisingly small: 55.5 cm × 66 cm (21.9 × 26 inches). The intimate scale makes the quiet devotion feel personal. The warm earth tones and low horizon line give the figures a monumental presence despite the painting's modest dimensions.

Q: What art movement does this represent?

Millet was a founder of the Barbizon School, which emphasized painting rural life and landscapes from direct observation. His sympathetic depiction of peasant labor influenced Van Gogh deeply. Van Gogh made copies of The Angelus and considered Millet one of his greatest heroes.

Jean-François Millet painted The Angelus between 1857 and 1859, depicting two peasants pausing in a potato field at sunset. The distant church bell has rung, calling them to prayer. They bow their heads over a basket of their harvest. Nothing more dramatic than a daily ritual of faith and labor.

The painting's simplicity proved enormously popular. After Millet's death, prices for his work skyrocketed. In 1889, the Louvre tried to buy The Angelus, sparking a wave of French patriotism when it risked leaving the country. A madman attacked and slashed it in 1932. Salvador Dalí became obsessed with the image, requesting that the Louvre X-ray the painting. They found a geometric shape at the couple's feet that Dalí interpreted as a child's coffin.

The canvas measures 55.5 by 66 centimeters, small for such an iconic work. It hangs at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Millet said the image came from childhood memories of his grandmother making him stop work when the church bell rang to pray for the dead.

It's at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Jean-François Millet painted it between 1857 and 1859. It became one of the most widely reproduced images in 19th-century France.

A peasant couple pausing from work in a potato field at dusk to pray the Angelus, a Catholic devotion said three times daily when church bells ring. The man holds his hat. The woman bows her head. A wheelbarrow and basket of potatoes sit beside them. A distant church steeple marks the horizon.

Dalí was fixated on The Angelus, calling it 'the most troubling painting in the world.' He wrote a book arguing the couple was praying over a dead child's coffin, not a basket. X-ray analysis later revealed Millet had originally painted a small coffin-like shape that he painted over.

It's surprisingly small: 55.5 cm × 66 cm (21.9 × 26 inches). The intimate scale makes the quiet devotion feel personal. The warm earth tones and low horizon line give the figures a monumental presence despite the painting's modest dimensions.

Millet was a founder of the Barbizon School, which emphasized painting rural life and landscapes from direct observation. His sympathetic depiction of peasant labor influenced Van Gogh deeply. Van Gogh made copies of The Angelus and considered Millet one of his greatest heroes.

The Angelus

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Jean-François Millet

The bather

The Winnower

The Comtesse of Valmont

The Blacksmith and His Bride

Also at Musée d'Orsay

Lola de Valence

A Country Brasserie, Brannenburg, Bavaria

Man smoking a pipe

River's Edge The Siene at Herblay

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About The Angelus

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