The artwork “Lap with Hands” by Vincent van Gogh, created circa 1885 in Nuenen, Netherlands, is a chalk-on-paper piece that belongs to the Realism art movement. This sketch and study artwork is housed at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The artwork depicts a pair of hands resting on a person’s lap, rendered in confident strokes of chalk on a textured paper surface. The delineation of the hands, with detailed attention to the knuckles and fingers, conveys a sense of quiet restfulness and contemplation. The dark shades and rough lines impart depth and contrast, characteristic of van Gogh’s mastery in capturing everyday human moments with raw realism. The use of shading and cross-hatching techniques showcases the artist’s skill in bringing a simple, yet profound, scene to life.
