Sheet with Sketches of Working People 1890

This sheet of sketches by Vincent van Gogh captures working people through the directness of a pencil on paper. The grainy texture of the paper, combined with the marks of the graphite, create a sense of immediacy, as though we are seeing the artist's fleeting impressions. The figures are bent over, engaged in agricultural labor, their forms rendered with a simple economy of line. The act of drawing itself is work: a process of translating observed reality into a visual language. The starkness of the medium speaks to the hard labor being depicted; there's no romanticizing here. Van Gogh's choice of such a humble medium – pencil on paper, rather than say, oil on canvas – is a deliberate act, emphasizing the dignity and unvarnished reality of the working class. It reminds us that even the simplest materials, when wielded with skill and intention, can convey profound meaning and social commentary, challenging any hierarchy between art and craft.