Millet's images of workers deeply focused on their tasks look back to a long French tradition of illustrating the twelve labors of the months or the industries of distant provinces with workers surrounded by their tools. However, Millet minimized anecdotal detail or regional idiosyncrasy in order to celebrate the skilled laborer. He sought the most telling gesture of a task, in this case, the point at which the cooper is forcing down the hoops that will hold the staves of the barrel tightly against one another.

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