The Last Gleanings

Like other 19th-century French painters such as Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet, Breton was interested in themes of social realism. Many of his paintings, like this one, show peasants working in the fields. The sunset, as well as the activity of gleaning, the final gathering of remnants of wheat that marks the end of the harvest, can be seen as a metaphor for the passage of time. Breton’s inclusion of a young girl, mature woman, and elderly gleaner reinforce this theme.