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The Tired Gleaner
by Jules Breton
About the Artwork
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 commissioned Breton to make this smaller variation of the larger painting.
Inscriptions
Signed in black paint lower right corner: Jules Breton 1880
Provenance
Bought by Hinman B. Hurlbut, Cleveland, from Breton through the intermediary of George A. Lucas in 1881. Given to the CMA in 1915.
Exhibition history
Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916). Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jules Breton (French, 1827–1906)
- Date
- 1880
- Medium
- oil on fabric
- Dimensions
- Unframed: 94 x 63.8 cm (37 x 25 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection
- Accession no.
- 1915.721
More by Jules Breton in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009673
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