“Ploughman and Three Women,” created by Vincent van Gogh in 1883 in the Netherlands, is a pencil sketch on paper emblematic of the Realism art movement and belongs to the genre of sketches and studies. The artwork is currently housed in the Kröller-Müller Museum located in Otterlo, Netherlands.
The artwork depicts a rural scene with a ploughman maneuvering a horse-drawn plough, accompanied by three women who appear to be engaged in agricultural labor. The simplicity of the monochromatic pencil medium accentuates the raw and honest portrayal of the laborious tasks performed by the figures. The artwork captures the essence of the rural working class, emphasizing their connection and toil with the land in a straightforward, realistic representation common to Van Gogh’s early works. The figures are rendered with careful attention to form and posture, highlighting the authenticity and grit of the agrarian lifestyle.
