"The Potato Eaters"

Essay # 60056

Art
Art > Artists
Art > Painting

"The Potato Eaters"

This paper looks at Vincent Van Gogh as an artist and how important "The Potato Eaters" was to his career.

1,326 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

Vincent Van Gogh, born March 30, 1853, was a Dutch painter who began after the impressionist era. This paper discusses how Van Gogh's work is full of passion and his style very spontaneous. It explains that Van Gogh was the son of a Dutch Protestant pastor; therefore he was brought up in a very religious setting. It discusses how his life experience gave him the inspiration to paint and soon he was becoming well-known for his abilities. In 1885, Van Gogh painted what would be forever known as his first masterpiece. It shows how this painting, "The Potato Eaters", was his intentional attempt to establish his reputation in the painting world.

From the Paper:

"Van Gogh began this painting in August of 1883 after studying for over five years in the art community. This was his hope of becoming a respected artist by not only other artists but also by art dealers. Soon he gave up after only completing a sketch of the piece because he was restless and realized that the project entailed more than he was able to produce. After spending more time studying the art of painting and proper technique, Van Gogh determined that he was now ready to return to his sketch and create the scene of peasant farmers at their meal. The Potato Eaters contains five figures that were painted in such a technique that they would appear real along with their feelings displayed for the viewer. "Dark and somber, sometimes crude, these early works evidence van Gogh's intense desire to express the misery and poverty of humanity as he saw it among the miners in Belgium" (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 1). The Potato Eaters was Van Gogh's representation of reality during his time. After finishing several sketches, he set out to transfer his final sketch as an oil painting on canvas."