Jules Adolphe Breton - Returning from the Fields [1871]

Jules Adolphe Breton - Returning from the Fields [1871], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Although often associated with the Barbizon school, Breton (French, 1827 - 1906) favoured a more idealised treatment of his subjects and a more polished style of painting. In this rural scene, probably set in the artist's native Pas-de-Calais, north of Paris, three young women return from the fields at dusk. Their idealised forms contrast markedly with the harshness of Millet's depictions of peasant life.

[Walters Art Museum, Baltimore - Oil on canvas, 69.5 x 104 cm]