Vincent Van Gogh, The Potato Eaters, 1885Oil on canvas, 82 x 114 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Potato Eaters was one of Van Gogh's first major paintings in the beginning of his career. The peasants are coarse and the colours are muted to produce what he considered a natural work of art although the facial features are exaggerated creating instead a grotesque caricature. In a letter to Theo his brother, Van Gogh writes "I wanted to convey the idea that the people eating potatoes by the light of an oil lamp used the same hands with which they take food from the plate to work the land, that they have toiled with their hands--that they have earned their food by honest means." Van Gogh submitted The Potato Eaters to the Salon in Paris where it was rejected. It was his first ambitious work and is now considered his first masterpiece which was the artist's intention during it's conception and creation.
{Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash with Fresh Lime}
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 cm pieces
1 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
1/3 c sour cream
2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
lime slices & sour cream to serve
Place the cubed sweet potato on a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with your hands before sliding into a 180C oven for about 40 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Once roasted, puree the potatoes with a blender and add the butter, sour cream, and salt. Mix into well combined. Stir in the chopped chipotle and serve with a glob of sour cream and a squeeze of fresh lime.
This is the third recipe in a four part series for a smoky & spicy Thanksgiving.
November 18, 2009 at 12:09 PM
November 18, 2009 at 3:44 PM
November 18, 2009 at 4:48 PM
And sweet potatoes with chipotle peppers? My favorite combination. Won't be doing it for Thanksgiving this year because my kids just can't appreciate it just yet.
Oh, but they will...
November 18, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Cheers,
Rosa
November 18, 2009 at 6:01 PM
November 18, 2009 at 8:13 PM
November 19, 2009 at 2:42 AM
I love sweet potatoes. Love. AND-they're apparently supposed to make a very good first food for baby (always planning ahead).
I wrote a paper on this painting during a freshman year European art history class. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA) had it on loan, so I was able to study it in person. Don't ask what the focus of the paper was, I can't remember a thing!
November 19, 2009 at 2:52 AM
I've never seen that Van Gogh painting before and so of course did not know the background. I feel like you are my "continuing education", art-wise. Thanks :)
November 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM
November 19, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Love you!
November 19, 2009 at 3:10 PM
November 19, 2009 at 9:29 PM
November 20, 2009 at 9:38 AM
November 21, 2009 at 4:41 AM
November 22, 2009 at 11:41 PM