The Gleaners
Millet's "The Gleaners" was preceded by a vertical painting of the image in 1854 and an etching in 1855. Millet unveiled "The Gleaners" at the Salon in 1857. It immediately drew negative criticism from the middle and upper classes, who viewed the topic with suspicion: one art critic, speaking for other Parisians, perceived in it an alarming intimation of "the scaffolds of 1793."