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metal prints jules breton metal prints 19th century metal prints color image metal prints vertical metal prints france metal prints painter metal prints illustration metal prints human interest metal prints topix metal prints tired metal prints

drawings jules breton drawings 19th century drawings color image drawings vertical drawings france drawings painter drawings illustration drawings human interest drawings topix drawings tired drawings

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The Tired Gleaner, 1880. Gleaning?or picking up what little grain remains after a wheat field has been harvested?was usually the job of the poor, especially women and children. Breton shows a single gleaner stretching against a backdrop of the setting sun, while behind her others still labor in the field. Her bare feet and worn, simple clothing immediately identify her as a peasant. At the same time, however, her expansive gesture and the subdued tones of her skin and clothes link her to the surrounding landscape, both visually and symbolically. This painting not only suggests the hardships of peasant life, but also the grand link between humanity and the land. Like many of his successful contemporaries, Breton met demand for his paintings by copying and making variations of his own works. This picture is similar to a larger, more famous painting that was exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1880. The Cleveland collector Hinman H. Hurlbut, who bought this canvas from the artist, probably co...