The Epic 1889 Saga of Millet's 'L'Angélus'

The article recounts the tumultuous history of Jean-François Millet's painting 'L'Angélus' (c. 1859), focusing on the events of 1889. Initially commissioned by Thomas G. Appleton, who never collected it, the painting changed hands rapidly among collectors like Victor Papeleu, Jules van Praet, Émile Gavet, and John W. Wilson, often resold due to its perceived excessive religiosity. Dealer Paul Durand-Ruel boosted its visibility, and industrialist Eugène Secrétan bought it for 200,000 francs before repurchasing it for 300,000. After the Franco-Prussian War, the scene of pious peasants gained patriotic symbolism, peaking at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. When Secrétan went bankrupt, the painting was auctioned; French Minister of Fine Arts Antonin Proust won it for a record 553,000 francs, but the Chamber of Deputies refused to fund the purchase. A public subscription failed, and the painting was sold to the American Art Association, sparking national outrage. It toured New York, Boston, and Chicago, but within a year, magnate Alfred Chauchard bought it for 800,000 francs and later bequeathed it to the Louvre. The saga fueled debates on cultural heritage export laws, eventually leading to France's 1992 legislation on 'trésor national'.