Man, Standing with Arms Folded 1882

This sketch of a man with folded arms was created by Vincent van Gogh, likely in the Netherlands, before he moved to France. It is one of many studies of working-class people that Van Gogh made early in his career, before he had contact with the Parisian avant-garde. The man's wooden shoes indicate that he is probably a peasant. Van Gogh made a point of representing the poor and working class, seeing in them an unvarnished humanity that was closer to nature and to authentic experience. We might consider the image’s politics and ponder whether the man’s folded arms are a sign of his passive acceptance of his social position, or whether they hint at a suppressed anger, a quiet resistance against social norms. Either reading would be supported by a close look at Van Gogh’s letters and an understanding of the social realities of the Netherlands in the 1880s.