Artwork
Gleaning Women
Gleaning Women is an oil painting by the Realist artist Léon Augustin Lhermitte. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the National Museum of Western Art.
About this work
Overview
Léon Augustin Lhermitte’s 1919 oil painting *Gleaning Women* presents a quiet agricultural scene in which three peasant women bend over a golden field, collecting remnants of the harvest. Rendered in a naturalistic manner, the composition emphasizes the routine labor of rural life. The work belongs to the collection of the National Museum of Western Art.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas captures a moment of post‑harvest gleaning, a practice in which laborers gather leftover stalks and grains after the main cut. The three figures, dressed in long skirts and aprons—one in a blue apron—work together, underscoring themes of communal effort and the dignity of manual work within the French countryside.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on canvas, Lhermitte employs a restrained palette of browns, ochres and muted golds to convey the texture of hay and worn fabrics. Careful attention to the folds of clothing and the rustle of stalks creates a tactile realism, while the soft lighting unifies the figures with their environment, reinforcing the painting’s quiet, industrious atmosphere.
History & Provenance
Created shortly after World War I, the painting reflects a renewed interest in agrarian subjects during a period of national reconstruction. It entered the National Museum of Western Art’s holdings, where it remains part of the museum’s representation of early‑20th‑century French realism.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Léon Augustin Lhermitte (French pronunciation: ; 31 July 1844 – 28 July 1925) was a French naturalist painter and etcher whose primary subject matter was rural scenes depicting peasants at work.
