Jean-Francois Millet, Woman with a Rake, 1856-57

The demure figure of Woman with a Rake acts as a trademark of the working class, laboring to harvest their own crops. Jean-François Millet’s work portrays the everyday life of the lower class farmers. Painting the laborers in their natural state and setting, Millet captures the simple, yet hard, lifestyle of the masses.

Off in the background, other women perform similar laborious tasks. However, they appear much less serene and upright than the sole figure in the foreground. While she casually peers down at the rake in hand, the rest of the women strain their backs as they work painstakingly hard.

Towards the right in Woman with a Rake, there lies a structure in the distance. It appears to be possibly a bridge in ruins, broken with age. This signifies the position of these working women. They are trapped in a life of labor, with no escape. These figures are a part of the farming class and will forever be in the taxing and bleak world of Woman with a Rake.