Potato eaters Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Description of Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Potato Eaters

The main characters in this painting are one of the families, of which there were thousands. They were no different from the rest, but at the same time, there was something mesmerizing about them.

That’s probably why Vincent van Gogh chose this particular family for his painting. It fits in rather snugly with the rather poorly and cheaply made hovel they share. As the phrase goes, "in the huddle, but not in the huddle. This is probably why they still manage to stick together, no matter what it takes.

The hut itself is not particularly chic, gray and bare walls, you can see the bars on the windows, it is not particularly clear why they, because people who have only potatoes and coffee on the table, most likely, there is no valuable things that are worthy of protection.

All this suggests that even this modest dwelling does not belong to them, but is rented. On the faces of this family there is a look of despair, weariness and study, of daily hard work in the fields, for which they receive a mere pittance. But they are happy even that, because they can afford their dinner, even if it is so meager, but it is twice as good when it is earned by honest, albeit hard, work.

The whole room is barely lit by the dim light of a lamp, it is a bit like, some certain light of last hope, which has long since been extinguished in their eyes. The whole situation evokes deep feelings of empathy in the viewer, the steam that rises from the hot potatoes is not the only thing that warms them, their hearts are warmed by the spirit of unity that has once again brought them together, to share this dinner, after a hard day.

The whole picture is literally as if painted with the color of potatoes from the fields and the earth, which they work hard time after time to get through another day. The whole situation is rather sad, but very truthful and vital, which the artist has conveyed as realistically as possible.