Oh, I am finding meanings of one of the most famous paintings known as The Potatoes Eaters painted in 1885 by Vincent’s Van Gogh. I said to myself, I look at the painting and I feel depress and morose by seeing people in the painting eating potatoes under the lamplight. The lamplight does not give enough light to see things clearly, but I see dirt on faces of poor 
black workers and tiredness of their living life. Why Van Gogh painted this painting?
I think he wants to give a message that manual labors are separated from the civilized people and that something needs to be done to correct the situation. I am not sure those people are slaves at that time. They seem like they are having a day to day conversation, and maybe the same conversation that they have when they take a break or during their dinner time. They seem like they deserve their life to have dinner with the ones they love. It seems like they are comfortable with potato they are eating as they earned their food honestly and contented with their life although they had a tiring day. One thing I am quite sure to say that those people in the painting look so nice to each other as they talk to each other. It means that they understand and love each other as they can sympathize with each other. The same question came into my mind “Why Van Gogh draw such a scene?” The answer I have is Vincent Van Gogh might try to highlight the then injustice done to the workers and oppression those lowest workers face.
black workers and tiredness of their living life. Why Van Gogh painted this painting?I think he wants to give a message that manual labors are separated from the civilized people and that something needs to be done to correct the situation. I am not sure those people are slaves at that time. They seem like they are having a day to day conversation, and maybe the same conversation that they have when they take a break or during their dinner time. They seem like they deserve their life to have dinner with the ones they love. It seems like they are comfortable with potato they are eating as they earned their food honestly and contented with their life although they had a tiring day. One thing I am quite sure to say that those people in the painting look so nice to each other as they talk to each other. It means that they understand and love each other as they can sympathize with each other. The same question came into my mind “Why Van Gogh draw such a scene?” The answer I have is Vincent Van Gogh might try to highlight the then injustice done to the workers and oppression those lowest workers face.
The painting is not the beauty, but to me it is a message that there are injustices on our world threatening justice that we love to have and embrace. I close my eyes to the painting because it is ugly, but my mind is seeing it and every characters in the painting visually and urging me to do something. Now I am with the The Potato Eaters and I will tell stories of their life to other people.
EI
11 july 2011
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