The Gleaners (Millet)

• Jean-François Millet

The Gleaners is a painting by Jean-François Millet that depicts three women gleaning leftover grain after the harvest. In this work, as in his other works, Millet respects their silent dignity and hard work while at the same time hinting at social disparity and class division. The women's posture and bent backs not only signify to the viewer the amount of physical labor their work entails, but also reflect their humble spirit. The depiction of the working poor was critiqued by some people at the beginning, but it has come to be viewed as a remarkable representation of rural life in 19th century art.