Peasant Woman Stooping and Gleaning, Nuenen 1885 - Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh's studies of peasant women, bent over, working at a tiring activity, give the viewer an understanding of his models. This black-chalk drawing demonstrates the strong compositional tendencies that his drawings were now showing. It is drawn to a very high standard, especially the massing of shapes to create powerful expressions of the activities. His chalk strokes are now rapidly drawn and confident: he doesn't waste any marks and each stroke adds to building a convincing picture of volume and materiality.