Reinterpretation of the classic and visual inversion
“The gleaners after Jean-François Millet” (2008) by Rob Scholte belongs to the “Embroidery” cycle, in which the artist reworks images from art history through the medium of embroidery. In this work, the reference to Millet’s painting becomes an opportunity to reflect on labor, reproduction, and authorship.
Executed as a mounted tapestry, the work originates from a traditional embroidery reinterpreted within a conceptual framework. The scene, related to the iconography of The Gleaners, is transferred into a different context, where the value of the image is linked to the process of its making.
The decision to display the reverse side introduces a perceptual inversion, highlighting the structure, knots, and material construction of the work. The piece functions as a space of dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity, in which anonymous craftsmanship is reactivated within the art system.
Rob Scholte – The gleaners after Jean-François Millet, 2008
Provenance: private collection, Netherlands
Exhibitions: “Embroidery Show”, Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle (2016)
Archive: work registered in the Rob Scholte Archive and accompanied by authentication on photograph
