Black and white drawing of a young woman wearing a long dress, a bonnet and clogs, holding a long stick and looking away from the viewer at two bulls which are pulling a wooden farm tool through a field; gilt wood frame

The Harrower (La herseuse), 1872

Alfred Eloi Auterocheexpand_more

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Gift of Dr. Gabriel P. and Yvonne M.L. Weisbergexpand_more  2022.80.3

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During the Paris Commune of 1871, Alfred Auteroche drove an ambulance for the Republican (national government) side, which defeated the revolutionary Communards who had seized control of Paris and established a government espousing the rights of women, children, and workers. A year after this bloody conflict, the artist exhibited The Harrower at the Paris Salon. The inscription, penned in Latin and French, means “To the man the sword, to the woman the plow”—seemingly a reference to the idea that women were left to work the fields as men fought for their political beliefs. This scene may thus have served as a memorial to the women burdened by the war, and the men lost in it.

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Details
Title
The Harrower (La herseuse)
Artist Life
Paris 1831–Paris 1906
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2022.80.3
Provenance
Sale, Binoche-Desclee de Maredsous, Orleans, France, March 12, 2016, no. 81. [Galerie Christian Le Serbon, Paris, until 2018; to Weisberg]; Yvonne and Gabriel Weisberg, Minneapolis (2018–22; given to Mia)
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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Black and white drawing of a young woman wearing a long dress, a bonnet and clogs, holding a long stick and looking away from the viewer at two bulls which are pulling a wooden farm tool through a field; gilt wood frame

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