Peasant Woman Gleaning 1885

Vincent van Gogh’s drawing, Peasant Woman Gleaning, captures a figure bent in labour with charcoal on paper. The composition is dominated by the woman's form, its heavy lines creating a sense of weight and weariness. Her body is hunched, almost curving like the arc of labour itself. Van Gogh uses dense, swirling lines to describe her dress, contrasting with the sparse, scratchy marks indicating the field. This technique not only emphasizes texture but also underscores the harshness of her environment. The figure is not romanticized; instead, we confront the raw physicality of her work, each line contributing to a feeling of empathy. Consider how the formal elements—the weight of the line, the stooped posture—reflect Van Gogh's interest in depicting the dignity and burden of manual labour. The drawing invites us to contemplate the relationship between form and content, where the structure of the artwork mirrors the structure of the peasant woman’s life.