Georges Lacombe (French, 1868–1916)
Autumn: The Chestnut Gatherers, 1894
Oil on canvas
Norton Simon Art Foundation

About the Painting

French painter and sculptor Georges Lacombe (French, 1868–1916) received his first drawing lessons from his mother, who was a painter and printmaker, and then completed his training at Academie Julian in Paris. He later joined a group of artists called the Nabis who were inspired by the bold colors, flat shapes and dark outlines of artist Paul Gauguin and were interested in pattern, color and surface.

Here, we see an autumnal scene featuring rows of giant chestnut trees with red and yellow leaves that form a canopy over five women in traditional Breton dress, long skirts and aprons and a few with headdresses. They gather and shell the fruit, which has fallen onto the earth in a rhythmic pattern surrounded by red and footprint-sized golden leaves. A haze of light glows in the distance, and we can almost hear the leaves crunch with each step the women take.