The artwork, titled “Man, Sitting, Reading a Book,” was created by Vincent van Gogh in 1882 while he was in The Hague, Netherlands. This piece, rendered in chalk and pencil on paper, falls within the Realism art movement and the genre of genre painting. It is currently housed in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands.
The artwork portrays a man intently engaged in reading a book while seated on a simple wooden chair. The man’s posture is hunched and his attention is fully absorbed by the book, conveying a sense of contemplation and immersion. The use of monochromatic tones and detailed lines emphasizes the texture of the man’s clothing and the solidity of the chair, which contributes to the realistic depiction of the scene. The setting is unadorned, focusing all attention on the solitary figure and his quiet activity. This work reflects Vincent van Gogh’s interest in depicting everyday life and the common man with a sense of dignity and realism.
