"The Potato Eaters"
to prove he was on his way to becoming a good figure painter. The painting had the depict to the harsh reality
of life, so he gave the peasants course faces and bony, working hands. He wanted to show in this way that they
tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in dishes...that they have thus honestly earned
their food.
He painted the five figures in earth colours-'something like the color of a really dusty potato, unpeeled
of course. The message of the painting was more important to Van Gogh than the correct anatomy or technical
perfection. He was very pleased with the result: yet his painting drew considerable criticism because it's
colours were so dark and the figures full of mistakes.