Non angli sed angeli

The title Non Angli sed Angeli — 'Not Angles but Angels' — refers to the famous remark attributed to Pope Gregory the Great on seeing fair-haired English boys for sale in a Roman slave market, which tradition identifies as the inspiration for his mission to convert England to Christianity. The phrase was widely known in Victorian Britain and carried nostalgic associations with a pre-Reformation Catholic past that had particular resonance for the Pre-Raphaelites, several of whom were drawn to medieval religious imagery and the spiritual seriousness of early Christian art. Millais explores the phrase through the image of an angelic-looking child or young person whose features match Gregory's legendary description — fair, clear-skinned, and luminous. The subject allowed him to combine the Pre-Raphaelite interest in spiritually resonant historical subjects with his extraordinary facility for painting children's faces. Brighton Museum holds this canvas as part of a Victorian collection that reflects the city's long cultural history as a centre of fashionable taste.

The canvas prioritises the quality of the sitter's skin, hair, and expression — the angelic quality that justifies the title. Millais's technique for children's portraits involved very delicate modelling of the face to capture the translucent quality of young skin. The handling is warm and soft, avoiding the sharp definition he sometimes used for adult sitters.