Why did Vincent van Gogh paint peasants and rural laborers in Nuenen?

Vincent van Gogh painted peasants and rural laborers in Nuenen because he was deeply committed to his mission of bringing consolation to humanity through his art. During his time in Nuenen (1884–1885), his work focused on the daily lives of peasants, the hardships they endured, and the countryside they cultivated.12

His interest in these subjects was rooted in a profound sense of empathy for the "wretched," whom he sought to represent with a "brotherly message". This focus was also influenced by his admiration for the French painter Jean-François Millet, whose work remained a lifelong inspiration. Furthermore, van Gogh was deeply impressed by Émile Zola’s novel Germinal, and his paintings from this period, such as The Potato Eaters and Weavers, contain implicit sociological criticism regarding the struggles of the working class.12