Drie aardappelrooisters op het land c. 1886 - 1888

Anton Mauve sketched "Drie aardappelrooisters op het land" – "Three Potato Harvesters in the Field" – to capture rural life in the Netherlands. Mauve, as part of the Hague School, turned to the landscape and the peasant figure in search of an authentic national identity. In this quick sketch, we are given access to the labor of potato harvesting. What does it mean to see the backs of women working in the fields? Mauve’s decision to depict these figures, faceless and bent over, evokes both their connection to the land and their social standing in the fields. The drawing reduces them to silhouettes, emphasizing the anonymity and physical demand of their work. The choice of such a subject is interesting as it offers a glimpse into the lives of the working class, emphasizing the cultural importance of agriculture in Dutch society. There's a silent narrative here of women’s work, closely tied to the earth, that speaks volumes about their lived reality.