Study for ''The Tea Break'' (August 10, 1885) 1885

Jules Breton made this oil study for ''The Tea Break'' in France on August 10, 1885. It depicts a peasant woman pausing for a midday meal in the fields. Breton came from a rural background and often depicted the lives of agricultural workers in his paintings. Images like this one reinforced an understanding of the timelessness of peasant life. But it's important to remember that this was painted at a time of great social and economic change in France, with the growth of industrialization and the rise of new social classes. This art was collected by wealthy urban elites, who were perhaps nostalgic for a way of life that was disappearing. Breton became one of the most well-known academic painters of his generation. To truly understand an image like this, we need to examine not just the painting itself but also the social and institutional context in which it was made and consumed. By looking at things like exhibition reviews, sales records, and social histories, we can begin to unpack the complex meanings embedded in this seemingly simple image of rural life.