This Salon picture of 1810; one of whom offers alms to a poor cowherd, strolling in the "Communal," a small valley near the artist's native Ornans. The painting initiated a series of works devoted to the lives of women. Salon critics attacked the canvas for its "ugliness," reviling the girls' common features and country costumes, the "ridiculous" little dog and cattle, and its lack of unity and traditional perspective and scale.

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