An Analysis Of Jean-Francois Millet'S The Angelus And The Origins Of Droit De Suite Through The Multifocal Lens Of Love

In the economical English language, the word ‘love’ denotes multiple referents. It is common, therefore, when seeking to understand better different manifestations of love, to revert to the four principal types of love expressed in Attic Greek—eros, philia, storge and agape. While the precise meanings of these terms are elusive and have shifted over time, they indicate the different forms of love that might be associated with a particular subject. The particular subject of the love-based analysis conducted in this article is Jean-François Millet’s painting L’Angélus [The Angelus] (1857–1859). The painting was first sold in 1860 for FFR1000 and, 30 years later, fetched FFR750 000.1 See Bradley Fratello, ‘France Embraces Millet: The Intertwined Fates of The Gleaners and The Angelus’ (2003) 85(4) Art Bulletin 685. This article uses the amounts recorded by Fratello. One may also encounter claims for a...