Des Glaneuses (The Gleaners)

In his famous work, The Gleaners, Jean-François Millet goes against the artistic movements of his time.

Rather than idealize life in the countryside, where he was from, he depicted the misery behind the scenes.

While a crowd of harvesters work in the distance, three hunched over farmhands loom large in the center of the painting.

They're searching the soil of the recently harvested field for any ears of what's left behind. Their harvest seems a meager one: the artist shows us more straw than grain.

The hardened shadows in the foreground further dramatize the scene and heighten the dignity of the brave women.