The Potato Eaters

I would recommend zooming in to see all the small but big important details. (Look at Faces)
        
       I really don't know why I like this poem so much. When I look at it I just can find a way to take my eyes of this thought provoking work of art. Maybe it's the lighting or the facial expressions of the people. Maybe I  will never know. Anyways all in all I definitely think this painting should get noticed so i'm including it in this blog post.In the painting portrayed named "The Potato Eaters"(by Vincent Van Gogh) 5 old ragged tired looking people crowd around a table. One lady on the right pours something that looks like coffee as two other people on the far left share a small plate of potatoes.All of the people look very famished and struck in the depths of poverty. At the top of the painting one stray light hangs aluminizing the table . From the men and women's hats I predict that it takes place some time in the 1700s in England. At first I couldn't think of any observations good enough to match this very sophisticated poem. After some thinking I came to my theory.This is that the lighting in the painting is part of the reason that this painting is such a good looking and intriguing piece.It really helps us to infer a lot about the painting and just make us want to think about the picture. Without it this painting would look like a simple work of art.



       When I say lighting I don't just mean the light itself. I mean all the different elements of lighting such as the shadows on the small walls and the dark spots on the peoples faces. I think that even the lamp hanging from the ceiling and barely lighting the table has lots of significance. The dark spots on the peoples faces lead us to think that they are tired. Maybe we could even go further and infer that these people are peasants that do hard work throughout the day. From there dark bony hands we could infer that they do there work mainly with their hands. The fact that the they only have one light which hardly lights their house could lead us to think that they can't afford another light because of their wages from their job. The lack of color in their clothes could lead us to think that they either didn't have access to other colored clothes or couldn't afford it. The overall darkness in this painting even sets the main, depressing, sad mood showcased.


     All in all this picture really does it's job.Whether it's supposed to inspire, or just press thought into someone it succeeds. In my opinion if a painting changes someone than it's doing it's job. This poem is doing exactly this. I could really connect this paintings characters to myself (sometimes). These people look like they are just waiting for something better to begin. I feel the same way sometimes when i'm in a bad mood or just sad overall. I get over it but I don't if these people ever would. These feelings that I share with this picture are definitely also shared in society. Anyway this is a great painting  and should be seen by everyone. Good job Van Gogh.