Peasant Woman, Seen against the Window

Van Gogh's 1885 depiction of a peasant woman seen against a window belongs to his Nuenen period's exploration of interior light. The window as a source of light — backlighting a figure, creating a specific luminous effect — was a compositional and lighting challenge he explored in several works. The silhouetted or rim-lit figure against the window's pale light was a device he may have borrowed from the Dutch interior tradition, where window light was crucial to compositional structure. This work is currently unlocated or in private hands.

The woman against the window creates a specific lighting situation — the face partially in shadow, rim-lit by the window behind. Van Gogh's dark palette is appropriate to the interior setting, the window providing the composition's main light source. The figure's form is defined through the contrast between lit and shadowed planes.