Angelus

This is a beautiful handmade needlepoint version of Jean-François Millet's 1859 painting, The Angelus. I have a bit of a "code" or personal rule when it comes to collecting pieces and that's not to encroach on a culture that may not be my own or to trespass too deep into religious items. I had to give The Angelus a bit of a google to make sure I wasn't breaking my own code when I came across the following...

At first, the painting was interpreted as a political statement, with Millet viewed as a socialist in solidarity with the workers. While the painting expresses a profound sense of religious devotion, and became one of the most widely reproduced religious paintings of the 19th century, with prints displayed by thousands of devout householders across France, Millet painted it from a sense of nostalgia rather than from any strong religious feeling. According to Karine Huguenaud, "There is, however, no religious message to the painting: Millet was simply concerned with portraying a ritualised moment of meditation taking place as the dusk rolls in." 

Reading such settled my stomach and I was able to appreciate it for more than what it appears at first glance.