This painting titled The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh is representing the working class of society. These people live a very minimalistic lifestyle and work for everything they get.  It was painted in impressionism style where their were thick brush strokes used conveying great emotion from the painter who was suffering the early stages of depression. They live in very poor conditions and sustain themselves solely from the farm that they have. This is the lifestyle that most people that don’t live in cities, and aren't affected by industrialization, have. Van Gogh said,“I have tried to emphasize that those people, eating their potatoes in the lamp-light have dug the earth with those very hands they put in the dish, and so it speaks of manual labor, and how they have honestly earned their food”. (The Potato Eaters) Van Gogh shows the lifestyle out of the big city, and into the countryside out of industrialization.(The Potato Eaters) 

     Looking closer into the actual detail in this painting the first thing that becomes very apparent is that there is no electricity in the house; it is lit by candle. This shows that they do not have the means that other households in the city had at this time. They are eating potatoes, and only potatoes; it is their main source of food on their. This painting uses very drab colors that almost make the image before you look dirty and gritty; the colors and appearance is related to the type of lifestyle they live and the type of work they do. This painting was painted to reveal the hardships of the normal life in the country and to open the eyes of the public.(The Potato Eaters )     

The Stone Breakers by Gustave Courbet represents the hardship that is placed on the people affected by industrialization. These two people are working tirelessly to build a road, which will be used for industry, trade, and movement of goods, which in effect makes goods more available and makes industry grow. In this work Courbet is showing the hardships of the laborers that work, and progress industrialization to make their living. Looking carefully at the two workers, one is young, and one is old. Courbet seems to be emphasizing the working ages of the time. This young boy is not in school and judging by his job is not wealthy; this is the lower class worker that is out working from young age to old to make ends meet and support his family.

The old man next to him is the same, working to support his family even though he is in his old age.(Gustave Courbet). The painting is very realistic in the sense that these workers are not rich, are not in leisure, they are just working. This painting offended many people of the time and got a bad image. People did not want to see the truth of industrialization, and the truth of the working class. They ridiculed the painting for being ugly by the colors used and the image that was portrayed of manual labor. The people thought it looked dirty and unappealing. Courbet introduced a new style of painting, the realist movement that depicted normal life for many people as it really was.(Gustave Courbet)

            Otto Dix painted this painting in 1916 depicting the horrors of war. He volunteered as a machine gunner in 1915 in world war one.  He saw the horrors of war in the modern era as a result of industrialization. Weapons that delivered a new level of lethality were deployed and killed people on a scale that had never been seen before. This painting was one of the first paintings depicting the horrors of war in the modern era and changed the way people looked at war. It was no longer a glamorous march of victory or defeat, but a bloody battle field with many casualties. This painting is German expressionism , this is Dix version of what he saw in war: the colors are bleak, white black and grey, this is because of style of painting. The style of painting, German Expressionism , was very subjective; these were parts of his memory as he remembered it.(The Art of War)

                   These horrors of war are the result of industrialization of countries. The weapons that were used were developed for the upper hand of countries. The war was started over land, which also is a cause of industrialization because cities and countries are expanding and with expansion comes more recourses. The expression on the mans face is one of pure terror, the fear of death and agonizing pain. The body is mutilated and in some areas unrecognizable. The look on the mans face almost makes us realize the pain of war and open our eyes to what war and industrialization are all about.(The Art of War)

 

Bibliography

 "The Art of War - Otto Dix’s Der Krieg [War] Cycle 1924." NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA - HOME. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. http://nga.gov.au/dix/.

"Gustave Courbet." Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255-s01/boheme/courbet.htm.

"The Potato Eaters." Vincent Van Gogh Biography. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. <http://www.vincentvangoghart.net/The-Potato-Eaters.html>.