The Gleaners () is an

oil-on-canvas Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or copper for several centuries. ...

painting by

Jules Breton Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton (; 1 May 1827 – 5 July 1906) was a 19th-century French Naturalism (arts), naturalist Painting, painter. His paintings are heavily influenced by the French countryside and his absorption of traditional methods ...

, from 1854. The painting depicts an idealized version of peasant life. It is held in the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

, in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

History

Breton exhibited ''The Gleaners'' at the 1855

Salon (Paris) The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

. It was praised by critics and a private collector purchased it.

Description and analysis

In the painting women and children are seen gathering wheat. Breton was inspired by the realist paintings of

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

. Breton portrayed the poor often in idealized settings while Courbet's paintings were darker and less romanticized. In this case, Breton included a village policeman, who supervises the women and children who are gathering wheat, since men were not allowed. In the background, men can be seen loading wheat onto wagons. The painting is bathed in warm light and shadows which suggests that the work day is coming to an end. Nearly all of the subjects in the painting appear to be working for the same goal. Part of the painting appears on the cover of the book, ''Jules Breton: Painter of Peasant Life''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleaners, The 1854 paintings Paintings by Jules Breton Farming in art Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland