Jean-Francois Millet: Angelus
I have always responded equivocally to Jean-Francois Millet . There is an undeniable charm to his artwork, but it may sometimes seem too charming — too dolce . His lines end just where they are supposed to, and even a little prematurely, turning to describe a round angle instead of a sharp one, as if avoiding a confrontation. The artist seems to strive to smooth out every possible roughness of a body part or a piece of clothing, in what appears like a naive or even Utopian exercise… Or does it? I have pondered over this stylistic peculiarity, trying to find its deeper, underlying reasons, because each time, after looking at Millet, I was consistently left with a feeling that I was missing something. I needed a hypothesis to counter that nagging sense of miscomprehension — and I think, or at least I hope that I found one. Its premise relies on the rejection of traditional relationship between the observer and the work of art; the observer needs to make a certain concession and ignore the initial negative response. This action does not guarantee a more positive reaction to the artwork, but it will ensure more objective interpretation.
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