Saint-Rémy, Workers in the Field. Verso: Man digging and other figure studies

In an attempt to regain his health, van Gogh spent a year at the hospital of St. Paul near the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. When he was able to do so, he painted or drew, finding subjects in town and the surrounding countryside. The figures of men digging and sowing recall the works of Millet, but the restless, curvilinear outlines and strong parallel hatching of the drawing are distinctly van Gogh's own. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection"