The Gleaners

The Gleaners is a painting done in 1857 by Jean-Francois Millet. It depicts three peasant women picking stalks of wheat before harvest. It is 2'9" by 3'8", rather large for a painting of its subject and initially not perceived well. The painting drew negative criticism among the upper classes when revealed, viewed as glorifying the lower class worker. The painting is housed at the Orsay Museum in Paris. It is an example of realism.