The oil on canvas painting shows a male and a female peasant crossing the fields in front of an early morning sky. The man has a fork over his shoulder and the woman carries a basket on her head.
Although human beings are central to his art, his portrayals tend to be highly generalized. He was less interested in depicting individual peasants than in representing humankind and its struggle with the soil.
Going to Work by Jean-François Millet 1851
