Van Gogh in

Wheatfield

Vincent’s bedroom in Saint-Paul de Mausole looked out over an enclosed wheat field with the Alpilles mountains beyond. In one of his first letters to his brother Theo from Saint-Rémy, he wrote:

“Through the iron-barred window I can make out a square of wheat in an enclosure, a perspective in the manner of Van Goyen, above which in the morning I see the sun rise in its glory.” Read the complete letter

The view kept him occupied; he painted it in all seasons and weathers. Works he produced included Wheat Field after a Storm, Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun, Landscape with Wheat Sheaves and Rising Moon, Enclosed Wheat Field with Rising Sun, Reaper, and Rain. The paintings expressed his belief that wheat symbolised the finitude of life. About Reaper, he wrote:

“I then saw in this reaper – a vague figure struggling like a devil in the full heat of the day to reach the end of his toil – I then saw the image of death in it, in this sense that humanity would be the wheat being reaped. So if you like it’s the opposite of that Sower I tried before.“ [[brief nr=800] Read the complete letter