Imagine a 17th century room filled with reverberating screams of infants and a father lackadaisically lying on a couch ignoring the cries. The only action present is that of the milkmaid who is hastily working to prepare food and milk for the family. The year is 1885; imagine a vast field with the scorching sun shining down on the bare necks of women as they face down working strenuously to cultivate the land. These were the busy times of the women where they worked even harder than some men. Women’s work was not a joke for the lower and middle class women, while the upper class women were fortunate enough to have other women doing the work for them. As a result many renowned artists such as Jan Vermeer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Jean-Francois Millet, painted the actions of these women to display the hardships these women had to face in order to sustain a well-being. The following paintings are different in style, however send the same message that was women’s work.

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Potato Eaters, Van Gogh, 1885

The_Potato_Eaters_Van_Gogh.jpg
             This painting, also representing women at work, is “the Potato Eaters” by Vincent Van Gogh in 1885. Van Gogh, like Millet, deliberately used ugly and disheveled models in order to convey true work. As Van Gogh said, “I wanted to convey the idea that people have earned their food by honest means.” His message through the painting was to have people aware that others, in this case women, have to work to make an honest living. In the painting, there are a total of five characters: four women and one man. The man and the woman on the left cooperated in shaving the skins off the potatoes, while the three women on the right are drinking tea. Although the dim light from the ceiling hardly illuminates the room, the faces of the figures are still visible and vibrant. The facial expression of the second woman from the right shows hopefulness while she gives a potato to the other woman. Van Gogh also exaggerated the cheeks of the second woman from the left by making it really small to show that some of these peasants were somewhat emaciated. Through this Van Gogh did not wish to condemn peasants; rather, he simply wished to show these country people in their true nature. The overall mood of the painting is gloomy because of the dull colors Van Gogh uses; however, he does give a sense of hopefulness in the face of the woman. He says that artists in the future should not be so aspired to use vibrant colors to convey a hopeful mood.[1] This painting shows that all of the figures are in a household and because women dominate in numbers, the viewer’s get a sense of female authority in the house. Also, another painting by Van Gogh in the same year, “Two women digging,” shows two women supposedly digging for potatoes. This shows that the women in the household were the ones who provided the potatoes for the family. [2]
During the 19th century when this painting was completed, many new doors opened for women. This was the time when the Industrial Revolution was taking place so women were involved in improving society rather than simply living in the house caring for children and servants. Because of the acceptance into the society, some women were given the right to vote, they got better educations, all-girl schools were made, women became doctors, and women were admitted into playing sports. This was all occurring while this painting was made. However, although women were allowed more luxuries, Van Gogh wanted to remind the society that not all women were so lucky.

[1] "Vincent Van Gogh. Study of Art, Paintings, and Works." MoodBook. Bring Art to Your Desktop! Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.moodbook.com/history/postimpressionism/vincent-van-gogh-works.html>.
[2] "The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh." Vincent Van Gogh Gallery - Welcome! Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/potatoindex.html>.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)