The Gleaners

The Gleaners is a powerful print created by Jean-François Millet between 1834 and 1875. This rendition is an etching printed in brown/black ink on laid paper, specifically noted as the second and final state of the plate. While Millet is widely celebrated for his large oil paintings depicting rural labor, his work in printmaking was equally significant, offering him a direct medium for narrative expression. The extended creation date spanning four decades underscores the artist’s meticulous engagement with the etching process before finalizing this detailed image.

Millet dedicated his career to portraying human figures engaged in demanding agricultural work, often elevating the status of the peasantry through the emerging French Realism movement. Unlike romanticized genre scenes, this piece focuses deliberately on the physical reality of labor. The composition captures the stark, bent posture of the women who follow the harvest to gather leftover grains—a crucial, low-status task known as gleaning. Millet’s skill as an etcher is evident in the delicate cross-hatching and tonal contrasts used to define the rough texture of the landscape and the workers' clothes. The widespread availability of such prints during his lifetime helped define his legacy. This specific impression is held within the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As major prints by Millet have entered the public domain, the technical characteristics of his graphic works remain a cornerstone for academic study.