The Departure for the Fields 1884

Jules Breton captured this scene of rural life, depicting children heading towards a golden field, with a church steeple in the background. The field itself is a powerful symbol, representing fertility and harvest, deeply rooted in agrarian societies. The image is punctuated by the wheel, most clearly on the wagon where the child is seated. The wheel evokes the cyclical nature of life, rebirth, and the ever-turning seasons. This echoes ancient sun-worshipping cults, and can be seen in other depictions of mythic figures riding chariots across the sky, for example in classical depictions of Apollo. Wheels recur throughout the ages, appearing in mandalas, and alchemical symbols, each time evoking the human desire to transcend the mundane, connecting earthly existence to something eternal. Breton’s field and church connect us to the earthly and the divine, engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. The wheel connects to ancient ideas about the self, time, and the cosmos.