A hidden treasure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
I stumbled across this amazing painting by Jules Breton one day while in the Met and was absolutely mesmerized by it. The quality of light is unlike anything I've ever seen, not even in a Turner.
Breton painted the piece in French countryside in 1868. He described this twilight scene of peasants pulling up thistles and weeds in his autobiography —"their faces haloed by the pink transparency of their violet hoods, as if to venerate a fecundating star".
Hung in quite a dim space, the painting lights the room from within and you can almost smell the late afternoon air. Do yourself a favor and find this painting on your next visit - Metropolitan Museum of Art - Gallery # 802.