The artwork “Peasant with Sickle, Seen from the Back” by Vincent van Gogh, created in 1885 in Nuenen, Netherlands, is a chalk sketch on paper. It belongs to the Realism art movement and falls within the genre of sketches and studies. This piece is currently housed in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands.
The artwork depicts a male peasant, viewed from behind, engaging in agricultural labor. The figure is illustrated with a bent posture, holding a sickle in his right hand, suggesting a moment frozen in the act of reaping. The peasant is clad in simple, robust clothing suitable for fieldwork, complete with a brimmed hat that shadows his head. The background is textured with hatching and lines, indicating the thick growth of crops, against which the figure is set. Van Gogh’s choice of medium and technique captures the peasant’s movement and toil with a sense of immediacy and texture, providing a deep insight into rural life and labor during that period.
