UNDER CONSTRUCTION - More images coming soon!
Maine Potatoes
A series dedicated to the humble spud!
In Maine we are known for our potatoes. It's major crop, and there is even a region where they suspend school classes so that the kids can go out to the fields and help in the annual potato harvest.
We all love potatoes. They are an amazing form of sustenance. They can be cooked in a multitude of delicious ways. They are a staple in the American diet. And they have been known to appear as a subject in Art. Most notable in the painting, The Potato Eaters, by Vincent Van Gogh.
"Van Gogh deliberately chose a composition which would challenge his growing prowess as a painter. Like the French master Jean-François Millet, Van Gogh wanted to be a true “peasant painter.”
This meant Van Gogh tried to paint his subjects with deep feeling, but without sentimentality. He spoke of them leading 'a way of life completely different from ours, from that of civilized people.' He strove to paint the faces, 'the color of a good, dusty potato, unpeeled naturally,' and to convey the idea that these people had 'used the same hands with which they now take food from the plate to dig the earth […] and had thus earned their meal honestly.'
In Maine we are known for our potatoes. It's major crop, and there is even a region where they suspend school classes so that the kids can go out to the fields and help in the annual potato harvest.
We all love potatoes. They are an amazing form of sustenance. They can be cooked in a multitude of delicious ways. They are a staple in the American diet. And they have been known to appear as a subject in Art. Most notable in the painting, The Potato Eaters, by Vincent Van Gogh.
"Van Gogh deliberately chose a composition which would challenge his growing prowess as a painter. Like the French master Jean-François Millet, Van Gogh wanted to be a true “peasant painter.”
This meant Van Gogh tried to paint his subjects with deep feeling, but without sentimentality. He spoke of them leading 'a way of life completely different from ours, from that of civilized people.' He strove to paint the faces, 'the color of a good, dusty potato, unpeeled naturally,' and to convey the idea that these people had 'used the same hands with which they now take food from the plate to dig the earth […] and had thus earned their meal honestly.'