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 )