Peasant Woman Lifting Potatoes 1885

Vincent van Gogh's charcoal drawing, "Peasant Woman Lifting Potatoes", created in 1885, depicts a woman from the back, hunched over and seemingly lifting a heavy sack of potatoes. Van Gogh's rough, expressive strokes give the figure a sense of weight and hardship, highlighting the physical labor of the working class. The drawing exemplifies Van Gogh's early fascination with the lives of rural laborers and his use of charcoal to capture both the form and the feeling of his subjects. It is currently on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.