Spinner and farmer with a basket

This   painting, among the great pastoral compositions of the period, has always   enjoyed the favour of critics. In addition to   the luminous, enamelled quality of the paint application, the canvas is also   innovative in composition, the protagonists being set back from the   foreground and a neutral backdrop having been abandoned. The landscape in the background is not particularly   defined, but is articulated so as to accentuate the circularity of the light   that invades the scene. The depiction of   the two young people is also remarkable: dressed in their best clothes, their   portraits convey a sensitive and delicate empathy.