Editing Potato (section)

=== In art ===

The potato has been an essential crop in the Andes since the [[pre-Columbian era]]. The [[Moche (culture) |Moche]] culture from Northern [[Peru]] made ceramics from the earth, water, and fire. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Potatoes are represented anthropomorphically as well as naturally.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & [[Larco Museum]]. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York:Thames and Hudson, 1997.</ref>
During the late 19th century, numerous images of potato harvesting appeared in European art, including the works of [[Willem Witsen]] and [[Anton Mauve]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Steven Adams |author2=Anna Gruetzner Robins |title=Gendering Landscape Art |year=2000 |publisher=[[University of Manchester]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dY7xwrA-ibQC&pg=PA67 |isbn=978-0-7190-5628-4 |page=67}}</ref>
[[Van Gogh]]'s 1885 painting ''[[The Potato Eaters]]'' portrays a family eating potatoes. Van Gogh said he wanted to depict peasants as they really were. He deliberately chose coarse and ugly models, thinking that they would be natural and unspoiled in his finished work.<ref name="vgg">{{cite web |url=http://www.vggallery.com/visitors/004.htm |title=The Potato Eaters by Vincent van Gogh |last=van Tilborgh |first=Louis |year=2009 |work=The Vincent van Gogh Gallery |access-date=11 September 2009}}</ref>
[[Jean-François Millet]]'s ''The Potato Harvest'' depicts peasants working in the plains between Barbizon and Chailly. It presents a theme representative of the peasants' struggle for survival. Millet's technique for this work incorporated paste-like pigments thickly applied over a coarsely textured canvas.<ref name="William Johnston">Johnston, W.R., Nineteenth Century Art: From Romanticism to Art Nouveau, The Walters Art Gallery, p.56, {{ISBN|1857592433}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths="160px" heights="160px">
File:Papamuseolarco.jpg|Potato ceramic from the [[Moche (culture)|Moche]] culture
File:Jean-François Millet - The Potato Harvest - Walters 37115.jpg |''[[The Potato Harvest]]'' by [[Jean-François Millet]], 1855 ([[Walters Art Museum]])
File:Bastien Lepage Saison d-Octobre Recolte des pommes de terre.jpg |''The potato harvest'' by [[Jules Bastien-Lepage]], 1877, [[National Gallery of Victoria]]
File:Van-willem-vincent-gogh-die-kartoffelesser-03850.jpg |''[[The Potato Eaters]]'' by [[Van Gogh]], 1885 ([[Van Gogh Museum]])
File:Anker Die kleine Kartoffelschälerin 1886.jpg |''Girl peeling potatoes'' by [[Albert Anker]], 1886, oil on canvas 
</gallery>