Peasant with Sickle, Seen from the Back 1885

Vincent van Gogh made this drawing of a peasant with a sickle, seen from the back, with a pencil. Van Gogh’s deep connection to the working class was profoundly shaped by his early life in the Netherlands, a place marked by stark social divisions. During his time as a preacher among impoverished coal miners, he developed a profound respect for their hard labor and resilience. This drawing is not merely a depiction of a peasant; it’s an exploration of dignity, labor, and the human spirit. What does it mean to turn away from the viewer, to obscure the face, and to present labor not as heroic but as a daily grind? What we see in this image is not just a worker in a field, but a reflection on the value of human effort, set against the backdrop of a society undergoing massive transformation. Van Gogh draws attention to the shared humanity in these rural, working class settings.