"The Gleaners" was painted by Jean Francois Millet. This picture takes us to a wheat field in France. The overseer had ridden over the field and saw that many stalks of wheat had been left by the reapers. He sent these peasant women, who are called gleaners, to gather this wheat so there would be no waste. The women took up the lower corners of their aprons and tied them in a knot at the back. This made a bag into which they could put the wheat. The woman at the right has straightened up a little to rest her back. The woman at the left has placed her left hand on her back to balance herself. The one in the middle is going on steadily with her work.

In the background there are other gleaners who are doing the same work. There are also large stacks of wheat and mean who are bringing the wheat to make the stacks. There are trees and behind the trees you can see the tops of buildings which may be their homes or barn in which they store the wheat. The sky is grayish blue which tells that it is late in the afternoon. Everyone seems to be hurrying to get their work done before dark. I like the picture because it shows the peasants at work.