In the Potato Eaters (more info ) Vincent van Gogh gave the peasants coarse faces and bony, working hands as the painting had to depict the harsh reality of country life.
He wanted to show in this way that they 'have tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish ... that they have thus honestly earned their food'.
Nowadays, the Potato Eaters is one of Van Gogh's most famous works.