My Second Sermon - John Everett Millais

A charming Victorian portrait by John Everett Millais, depicting his daughter Effie asleep in a church pew after a long service.

My Second Sermon, painted by John Everett Millais in 1864, depicts a young girl asleep in a church pew. The subject is Effie Gray, the artist's daughter, who is shown wearing a bright red cloak and holding a fur muff. This work follows his earlier painting, My First Sermon, which showed the same child wide awake and attentive during a church service. The contrast between the two pieces provides a humorous observation on the endurance of a child during long religious observances.

Millais employs a controlled palette, using the bold red of the cloak to draw the eye against the muted, dark tones of the church interior. The lighting is soft, focusing on the child's face and the texture of her clothing. The composition is simple, placing the figure centrally within the confines of the wooden pew. The painting reflects the shift in Millais's later career toward more accessible, domestic subjects, moving away from the strict aesthetic principles of his early Pre-Raphaelite period. The work was well received by the Victorian public, who appreciated its charm and technical execution. It remains a clear example of the artist's ability to capture character and narrative through portraiture, without relying on complex allegorical themes. The attention to detail, particularly in the rendering of the fabric and the child's expression, demonstrates the skill that defined his professional output during this decade.