Man at Table

This seated man is one of the studies Van Gogh made in the spring of 1885 for the picture he cared about most that year, The Potato Eaters, his group of peasants sharing a poor meal by lamplight. The model is Francis van Rooij, known as Sis, an uncle of one of Van Gogh's regular sitters, who lived with an unmarried brother and sister in the village of Nuenen. Van Gogh wanted the peasant shown plainly, worn from the day's work in the fields and taking his simple supper. Much of the figure sits in shadow, with only a few touches of light catching the face and hands to pull the profile out of the dim cottage interior. He was teaching himself to build a whole figure out of very little light.