This painting depicts three peasant women in the foreground, bent low as they meticulously glean a harvested wheat field. Each woman wears rustic, nineteenth-century clothing, including long, dark skirts and head coverings—one blue, one red, and one a muted brown cap. Their postures are focused and rhythmic, emphasizing the repetitive labor of gathering leftover stalks of grain from the barren earth.
In the middle distance, the golden-brown field stretches toward the horizon, dotted with large, rounded haystacks and several distant figures working or standing near a cart. The composition draws the eye across the wide, open expanse, creating a sense of scale and rural isolation. A soft, hazy horizon line hints at distant buildings and a horse-drawn silhouette, suggesting a sprawling agricultural landscape.
The colour palette is dominated by warm, earthy ochres, ambers, and deep browns, contrasted by the cooling blues and muted tones of the women's clothing. The lighting is soft and diffused, characteristic of late afternoon or an overcast day, which casts long, subtle shadows and creates an atmosphere of quiet, dignified labor. The brushwork is textured and painterly, evoking the dust of the field and the weight of the harvest, capturing a timeless scene of rural life in an impressionistic yet grounded classical style.