Regarded as Vincent’s first masterpiece, the “Potato Eaters” was probably his most worked-on painting.
Dozens and dozens of studies were necessary to achieve the stunning result of that canvas.
It seems that his research on the “Brabant types” was embodied there: “the peasant painted with the land he sows”.
The in-depth study of each character and his former attempts at “great compositions” now allowed him to achieve that heavy and complex work: “ I’ve been cautiously watching these small peasants, their gestures, precisely to add character in them, for a year and a half”.
That painting, probably Vincent’s best-achieved one, gave him confidence: “ I do think that the potato eaters will remain, with the canvas which will follow”.