Description of Van Gogh's painting "The Potato Eaters"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Van Gogh considered the painting "The Potato Eaters" his best work. In it, he embodied all the power of compassion for ordinary workers.

Year of writing and circumstances

The painting "Potato Eaters" became the final chord of the artist's stay in Nuenen (North Brabant, the Netherlands). At that time, he was still in search of his manner. For two years, Van Gogh worked hard, not letting go of a pencil and a brush. He painted everything that surrounded him in that small peasant town: looms, a church, hedges, poplars … He even depicted two women digging potatoes.

But it was, as it were, about a simple village life, which he wanted to grab and convey on canvas. The artist matured in the desire to create a complete and capacious canvas instead of fragmentary sketches, which would express the very spirit of peasant life in the Brabant province. And the masterpiece was born in November 1885.

Sitters

The people depicted in the "Potato Eaters" painting are not fictitious. Van Gogh became friends with the local de Groot family. They were ordinary peasants, of which there are thousands. Their family consisted of a father, mother, two daughters and a son. Heavylabor on earth was their lot from generation to generation. They lived in a shack, which can be called a home with a stretch. There was only one room, which combined the role of a kitchen, dining room, bedroom and living room, and all its simple decoration consisted of a table, chairs, several drawers and beds.

They kindly agreed to pose for the artist, although every evening they came home from work exhausted and tired. De Groots are literally potato eaters. Vincent van Gogh was waiting for them to return from the field and sit down at the dinner table, and took up the brush, sketching.

Suffering canvas

The idea to write the de Groot family at their ordinary meager meal has finally matured. And although the artist accurately imagined what he wanted to convey, the work was not given to him the first time. It is known that Vincent made at least 12 sketches, but each went to the fire. Only on the last evening in the village did he capture the atmosphere of a wretched family feast, and he took this canvas with him to Paris. A sketch for the painting, which the author sent to his brother Theo, has been preserved.

"The Potato Eaters" by Vincent van Gogh: is this a satire?

For many years, the traditional interpretation of the picture was the image of primitive, wild peasants at the moment of eating. They saw animal habits in their looks and movements, and distorted features in their faces. Because this work of Van Gogh was considered satirical.

In fact, the author himself did not consider his sitters to be half-humans. On the contrary, he had a warm relationship with theirSteen's eldest daughter, they often walked together. Vincent often watched them both in the field and at home. He respected both the family itself and their forced hard work, because they were hostages of circumstances. This is known from Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo.

With his work, Van Gogh wanted to convey the "steam from the potatoes" in the hard-working peasant hands. He did not want to put them on a pedestal, but just to show a frame from village everyday life (although, most likely, there were no holidays in their way of life by default).

The name of the composition - "Potato Eaters" - voices the harsh truth of the life of the then peasants. Planting, digging and eating this vegetable was their eternal lot of life. But in this way they earned an honest bread, and this is worthy of sympathy and respect.

Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters: Description

The canvas depicts late evening: it's dark outside, it's seven o'clock, the room is illuminated by the dim light of a lamp. It's cold outside, and it's not hot at home, judging by the way the characters are dressed. It must be late autumn. The dwelling itself is rather poor, the furniture is modest, there are no elements of luxury. There is nothing to steal in such a house, nevertheless there are bars on the windows. Perhaps this property does not belong to them, but they just rent it.

After an exhausting day, the family came home and sat down for dinner. The main dish of their meal is invariably the baked potato, of course. They cannot afford meat, cheese or milk. The only luxury is brewed black coffee. And such an evening is one of a thousand similar ones. Tomorrow, the potato-eaters will get up again, go to the field, as always, to extract dusty tubers from the ground.

They, although exhausted by hard work, have already got used to this endless string of life and dutifully walk together in this team. With all this, they have not lost their human dignity, they have not stooped to theft or begging, but work day after day in the sweat of their brows. The dim light of the lamp is like a flame of hope for a better future, barely smoldering in their hearts.

The girl's large, bulging eyes, looking into the void, show hopelessness and frenzy.

Her massive arms don't look like women at all. Perhaps she is wondering if the same life awaits her children. The rest of the characters are just busy eating. Mother pours coffee into cups, eyes downcast, father is already drinking a hot drink. Their life revolving around potatoes is monotonous and unhappy, but they have long accepted this as a given and resigned.

The earth tones in which the whole picture is made give the impression that it is written in the color of this root crop. This is very organically combined with the name and idea of the canvas. Van Gogh really managed to convey that very steam from a steaming potato that fills a modest dwelling with autumn warmth and slightly warms the soul.