Three girls in traditional Breton dress join hands in a circle, their bodies caught mid-step as they dance in a sunlit field dotted with haystacks. Each girl wears a white coif and dark dress with a colored apron, and two of them have bright red flowers pinned to their bodices. The girl on the left tilts her head and stretches her arm outward, her face turned toward the viewer with a lively, open expression.

The central figure faces away, her profile and clasped hands emphasizing the movement and unity of the group. To the right, the third girl steps forward, her gaze lowered as she leads the dance, her feet planted firmly on the yellow-green ground. A small dog leaps at her feet, its fur rendered in swift, textured strokes that echo the lively rhythm of the scene.

The haystacks scattered across the field are painted with broad, curving lines, their shapes echoing the girls’ circular motion. Gauguin uses a palette of earthy greens, ochres, and muted blues, enlivened by the white of the girls’ collars and coifs and the vivid red of their flowers. The brushwork is visible throughout, with areas of rough texture in the grass and hay, and smoother, more blended passages in the sky and distant landscape.

The composition is carefully balanced, with the figures placed in the foreground and the village and church anchoring the background, creating a sense of depth and harmony. Small details, such as the girls’ wooden clogs and the shadows cast by their skirts, add to the sense of place and time.