The Gleaners (Breton painting)
The Gleaners (French: Les Glaneurs) is an 1854 oil-on-canvas painting by Jules Breton. The painting depicts an idealized version of peasant life.
| The Gleaners | |
|---|---|
| French: Les glaneurs | |
 Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton, The Gleaners, 1854. National Gallery of Ireland | |
| Artist | Jules Breton |
| Year | 1854 |
| Medium | oil-on-canvas |
| Subject | Peasants |
| Dimensions | 93 cm × 138 cm (37 in × 54 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin |
History
Breton exhibited The Gleaners at the 1855 Salon (Paris). It was praised by critics and a private collector purchased the painting.[1]
Description and analysis
In the painting women and children are gathering wheat. Breton was inspired by the realist paintings of Gustave Courbet. Breton portrayed the poor in idealized settings while Courbet's paintings were darker and less romanticized.[1] In The Gleaners Breton included a village policeman supervises the women and children who are gathering wheat because men are not allowed. In the background of the image men can be seen loading wheat onto wagons. The painting is bathed in warm light and shadows which suggests the work day is coming to an end. Nearly all of the subjects in the painting appear to be working toward the same goal.[2] It is 93 cm × 138 cm (37 in × 54 in) and it is now in Dublin's National Gallery of Ireland in the Alfred Chester Beatty exhibition.[1]
Legacy
Part of the painting appears on the cover of the book, Jules Breton: Painter of Peasant Life.[2]
References
- "The Gleaners". National Gallery of Ireland. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- Lacouture, Annette Bourrut (2002). Jules Breton - painter of peasant life. New Haven: Yale. p. 80. ISBN 9780300095753. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.