Artwork
The Tired Gleaner
The Tired Gleaner is an unspecified painting by the Impressionist artist Jules Breton. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1915.721
- Credit line
- Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection
About this work
If you like how Breton paints quiet moments of rural life, look up subject: france, 19th century, mod euro for more scenes like this.
A woman in a faded blue dress bends backward, arms stretched wide, in a golden wheat field at dusk. Her bare feet press into the dirt, and her face is turned toward the last light.
Breton painted gleaners, poor workers who picked up leftover grain after harvest. Most artists showed them bent over, exhausted. Here, she stands tall, almost like she’s part of the land itself. The soft light makes her look strong, not broken.
If you like how Breton paints quiet moments of rural life, look up subject: france, 19th century, mod euro for more scenes like this.
Overview
The Tired Gleaner is a painting by Breton depicting a peasant woman stretching in a wheat field at dusk.
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a gleaner, a poor worker who gathers leftover grain after harvest, in a moment of respite. Her expansive gesture and connection to the landscape convey a sense of harmony between humanity and the land, while also highlighting the hardships of peasant life.
Technique & Style
Breton's use of subdued tones and soft light integrates the figure into the surrounding landscape, creating a visual and symbolic link between the woman and the land.
History & Provenance
The painting is a smaller variation of a larger work exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1880. It was purchased from the artist by Cleveland collector Hinman H. Hurlbut, who likely commissioned the smaller version.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton (French pronunciation:; 1 May 1827 – 5 July 1906) was a 19th-century French naturalist painter.
