A man and a woman are reciting the Angelus, a prayer which commemorates the annunciation made to Mary by the angel Gabriel. They have stopped digging potatoes and all the tools used for this task – the potato fork, the basket, the sacks and the wheelbarrow – are strewn around them. In 1865, Millet said: "The idea for The Angelus came to me because I remembered that my grandmother, hearing the church bell ringing while we were working in the fields, always made us stop work to say the Angelus prayer for the poor departed". So it was a childhood memory which was behind the painting and not the desire to glorify some religious feeling; besides Millet was not a church-goer. He wanted to catch the immutable rhythms of peasant life in a simple scene. Here he has focused on a short break, a moment of respite.

   Alone in the foreground in a huge empty plain, the two peasants take on a monumental quality, despite the small size of the canvas. Their faces are left in shadow, while the light underlines their gestures and posture. The canvas expresses a deep feeling of meditation and Millet goes beyond the anecdote to the archetype.

   Perhaps that explains the extraordinary destiny of The Angelus: it triggered an unbelievable rush of patriotic fervour when the Louvre tried to buy it in 1889, was venerated by Salvador Dali, lacerated by a madman in 1932 and became a world-famous icon in the 20th century.

百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com

　　《晚钟》是法国现实主义画家让·弗朗索瓦·米勒于1859年创作完成的一幅布面油画作品，现收藏于巴黎卢浮宫。
　　《晚钟》描述的是一对农民夫妇在夕阳暮色中随着远处教堂的钟声虔诚祈祷的情境。整个画面安静而庄重，人物形象朴实、容忍、宽厚、善良。作品中所蕴涵的庄严和崇高深深地打动了世人的心。
　　《晚钟》标志着米勒的艺术生涯达到了巅峰。米勒的《晚钟》与他的《拾穗者》、《播种者》被世人称为不朽的三大作品。

　　该画描绘了法国北部深秋寒冷的一个黄昏，一对年轻的农民夫妇站在空旷的原野上，他们衣着朴素，没有华贵的服装和饰品。天空的背景呈现为金黄色，远方飞翔着盘旋的雀鸟，田野的远处耸立着一座朦胧的教堂。夕阳下晚祷的钟声被远方敲响了，这对年轻的农民夫妇停下正在劳作的活计。男人正面低头望着脚下的土地和草，他身边的一把铁叉竖在泥土里。女的头像侧身朝夕阳站立着，双手紧紧抱在胸前，她脚前的提篮中盛放着一些土豆。她闭着眼睛正在虔诚的向上帝祷告，期盼着上帝的赐福和召唤。