Peasant Woman Kneeling and Pulling Carrots

Peasant Woman Kneeling and Pulling Carrots is a powerful drawing created by Vincent van Gogh in 1885. Executed using black chalk and a brush with wash, the technique highlights the artist's intense focus on volume, structure, and shadow rather than color. This piece dates from the artist’s time spent in Nuenen, the Netherlands, a crucial developmental period characterized by his dedication to depicting the solemn lives of agricultural laborers. Gogh felt a deep empathy for the rural working class, portraying them with a grounded sincerity often associated with the European Realist movements of the 19th century.

The drawing focuses intently on the single figure of the peasant woman actively engaged in the arduous task of harvesting. The heavy, dense quality of the black chalk emphasizes the strain and physical effort required for the labor. By manipulating the wash, Gogh achieved rich tonal variations, giving the figure a monumental, weighty presence that anchors her firmly against the simplified setting. This early, intense study of the human form immersed in labor directly precedes his seminal oil painting, The Potato Eaters. The masterful control of robust line and deep ink wash demonstrates the foundational drafting skills that informed his later, more expressive painted works.

Classified strictly as a drawing, this piece is a key documentation of Gogh’s technical and thematic preoccupations before he relocated to Paris. The work currently resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Reflecting its historical importance, this image is frequently studied, and high-quality prints are often sourced through various collections, benefiting from the widespread public domain availability granted to many major artworks from this era.