The gleaners, Jean-Francois Millet, 1857

The Gleaners, painted by Millet in 1857, was first unveiled at the Salon, drawing negative criticism from middle and upper classes; the depiction was eyed with suspicion as it glorified the lower class worker, especially due to the outcome of the French Revolution of 1848. The Gleaners displays three servants working prominently, stooped down in order to harvest wheat. “Their gaze does not meet the viewer, and their faces are obscured, while in the background, bountiful amounts of wheat are being stacked while a landlord overseer stands watch on the right”. Liana Vardi wrote, “[The women] embody an animal force deeply absorbed by a painstaking task. The contrast between wealth and poverty, power and helplessness, male and female spheres is forcefully rendered” (“The Gleaners”).  Millet uses the contrast of the abundance behind the women to the meagerness in front of them in an effort to confront the lower classes inability to move forward in class; The painting suggests that, like in real life, peasants are secluded and separated from the abundance of the upper classes, and are unable to move forward.

The setting is of three women harvesting wheat, in a simple field. The simplicity of the painting, matched with the realism and perspective, makes for an awe-inspiring spectacle. Despite the simple appearance of the painting, it represents one's inability to move forward in the face of poverty, and displays a controversial social niche within a class oriented paradigm.