The Gleaners

Millet depicts three peasant women bending over a field to gather leftover stalks after the harvest. The painting stood out for its honest look at the working classes, making it controversial among French landlords. While gleaning was not a new subject in art, this work spoke to poverty rather than biblical devotion. It was also painted on a large canvas whose size was typically reserved for religious or mythological scenes. The work is closely associated with the Barbizon School’s focus on rural life and natural scenes.

After the painting's controversial Salon debut in 1857, Millet sold it that same year to an English collector. It later passed through Parisian and private collections before Madame Louise Pommery acquired it in 1889 and donated it to the French state in 1890. The painting was transferred to the Musée d’Orsay in 1986, where it remains today.