ticketsMember | Make a donation

Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace

1885
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 825
This work was made in Nuenen in late spring 1885, just after Van Gogh completed The Potato Eaters (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), in the same dark hues that reminded the artist of "green soap" or "a really dusty potato, unpeeled of course." Van Gogh was "convinced that in the long run it produces better results to paint [peasants] in their coarseness than to introduce conventional sweetness… If a peasant painting smells of bacon, smoke, potato steam—fine—that’s not unhealthy—if a stable smells of manure—very well, that’s what a stable’s for."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace
  • Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)
  • Date: 1885
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 17 3/8 x 15 in. (44.1 x 38.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer Hays, 1984
  • Object Number: 1984.393
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Road in Etten, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Chalk, pencil, pastel, watercolor. Underdrawing in pen and brown ink.
Road in Etten
Vincent van Gogh
1881
The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat), Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Oil on canvas
The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)
Vincent van Gogh
1885
Peasant Woman Kneeling and Pulling Carrots, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Black chalk and brush and wash
Peasant Woman Kneeling and Pulling Carrots
Vincent van Gogh
1885
Gardener by an Apple Tree, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Transfer lithograph with pen and ink
Gardener by an Apple Tree
Vincent van Gogh
mid-July, 1883
Nursery on Schenkweg, Vincent van Gogh Dutch, Black chalk, graphite, pen, brush, and ink, heightened with white body color on laid paper watermarked ED & CIE (in a cartouche)
Nursery on Schenkweg
Vincent van Gogh
March–May 1882

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.