The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)

A solitary woman sits hunched over, her hands busy peeling a potato into a simple bowl. The muted tones of her clothes and the humble interior emphasize the quiet dignity of her labor. Created in 1885, this painting comes from a period when the artist was deeply focused on depicting the lives of peasant laborers, a subject he explored through numerous drawings and oil paintings. He aimed to capture the raw reality and hardship of their existence, often using a dark, earthy palette before he moved to Paris and adopted brighter colors. The intimate scale of this canvas draws you close, inviting a moment of contemplation about everyday life and the unseen work that sustains it. This particular canvas has a fascinating secret: turn it over, and you would find a self-portrait on the reverse side, painted two years later, reflecting a shift in his style and subject matter.