The Gleaners

Artistic improvements and commentary courtesy of Wimsey Bloodhound

The Gleaners (Jean-Francois Millet, 1857, Musee d’Orsay, Paris). Millet was one of the most renowned painters of the Barbizon School that was named for a village near the Forest of Fontainebleau in France. Barbizon school artists were interested in painting nature in a more realistic style than had previously been done. Nevertheless, Millet’s painting shocked the art critics when it was exhibited. The monumental and dignified appearance of the peasants was apparently unheard of and the act of gleaning or picking up what was left after the harvest smacked of socialism. Well, the terms “monumental” and “dignified” define The Hound, and we Hounds are all about taking stuff from the rich (who we define as anyone who has something we want). But see how much more dramatic the painting is with the insertion of a monumental and dignified Hound, helpfully defending the rights of the gleaners whilst engaging in a little gleaning himself. Who would dare interfere with them when they are in the presence of such a handsome and imposing animal? (I myself do quite a bit of gleaning—I glean dirty socks from the laundry bin and chunks of food from the kitchen counter). (“The Gleaning Hound”).