Title: Wheatfield with Crows
Artist: Vincent Van Gogh
Year: 1890
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 50.5 x 103 cm
Introduction
“I do not
invent the whole picture; on the contrary, I find it all ready in nature, only
it must be disentangled”[1]
said Van Gogh. The artwork ‘Wheatfield with Crows’ was painted by Vincent Van
Gogh in July 1890. It is oil on canvas with a dimension of 50.5 x 103
cm. The artwork is suggested to be one of the last paintings before van
Gogh’s death. It arouses the debate because originally there is a popular
belief claiming this painting is a ‘suicide note’ and it expressed his
depressed mental state, but the related evidence has not been found. In
addition, a biography of Van Gogh was written by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith in 2011. It even overthrew the view that
van Gogh committed suicide. Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith suggested that Van Gogh was
accidentally killed because of the evidences. For example, the angle of the gunshot was unlike
a suicide, and the gun was disappeared.[2] So, the death of Van Gogh and the background
of this painting were not verified. Yet, this does not appear to be a barrier
of appreciation of the painting. In the following article, I will
first in introduce the content of the artwork, then analyze how it fit into
Post-Impressionism, at last I will discuss my own opinion.
Content of ‘Wheatfield with Crows’
In
this landscape painting, there is a large piece of yellow wheat
occupying two thirds of the painting. In the wheat field, there are three
winding paths with green grass aside. The paths are pointing to different
directions. The terminal points of the paths are unseen. Above the field, there
is a dark blue sky. A flock of crows are flying over the wheat field and the
sky. In the following, we will look at the features that make this artwork a
post-impressionist one.
The
Features of Post-Impressionism in This Painting
This
painting is classified as a Post-Impressionist one. By analyzing several
aspects, we can find out how it fit into Post-Impressionism.
Brushstrokes
First, it
shows a response to Impressionism as van Gogh painted it with visible
brushstrokes. The paint is thickly applied and the brushstrokes are so
powerful. For example, the impasto is used to draw the dark blue sky and
the corns. The brushstrokes are structural as they follow the shape of the
objects, like the paths, the direction of brushstrokes is changed
according to the curve of the paths. Besides, the Post-Impressionist painters are not
interested in portraying the real world of external appearance, and van Gogh was
one of them. It can be told by the dramatic feelings created by the
brushstrokes. The brushstroke of the corns and the crows are alike, so a
fuzzy feeling arises. And the crows are gradually merged with the dark
blue sky, which is a picture that does not exist in reality. Therefore,
the brushstrokes give the viewers a sense
of unreality.
Location
Second,
Post-Impressionist artists are interested in portraying the areas on the
outskirts of Paris, and this painting is an example of it. The artwork is
describing the scenery in Orville town, which is a town near Paris.
Color
Third,
showing personal imagination and individual painting style is one of
the features of Post-Impressionism, and the dramatic color tone in this
artwork shows van Gogh’s l imagination and inventive painting style. Using
vivid colors is a characteristic of van Gogh's individual painting style. His
use of colors was influenced a lot by the laws of Delacroix and the theory of
complementary colors. [3]"Wheatfield
with Crows" exhibited the basic principles of the theories, as the colors
are in a strong contrast between the blue sky and yellow wheat, and between the
red paths and green stripes. 1He uses big contrasting vivid color – blue
and orange tinge for the whole artwork. So a dramatically dark threatening sky
and the large piece of golden corns stretching to the horizon are created. In a
letter, which Van Gogh wrote in 1884, he gave an explanation, "summer is the
contrast between blues and the orange tinge in the golden bronze of wheat"[4]. It shows that his imagination of
a summer scenery is expressed through his own painting style.
Composition
Lastly,
the composition is also on the basis of his own inventive style. Unlike the
other paintings, the frame of ‘Wheatfield with Crows’ is unusually wide, which
gives us a sense of loneliness. The wheat field is very broad, especially when
it occupies about two-thirds of the painting. However, the two sides are
cut-off, the distant destinations where the paths are leading to are unknown.
And even the middle one, also do not show clearly where the destination
is.
My Opinion
When I first look at this
painting, I found it is different from lots of Van Gogh’s work because it gives
me a strong feeling of depress and loneliness. I found the painting is vivid
but at the same time unreal, like it is a scene in a dream. So, I started look
at some article about it. After I search in some websites and books, I found
that most people claimed that it is the last painting and a suicide note of Van
Gogh. And some even interpret the symbolic meanings in the painting. For
example, some people said the three paths in the painting are from nowhere
leading to nowhere, and this implied the confused directions of his life, and
the separate paths represented his past, present and future.[5]
I found the painting is quite mysterious and then it interests me to keep
searching its detail. However, when I keep doing research for it, I found that
the claim of most people is not supported by evidence. Also, gradually I found
that, it is not necessary to link up the painting with the artist’s life.
Without a dramatic Van Gogh’s life story, it is still a great painting that
deserves us to appreciate. Besides, when I look at the painting, I found that there are some interesting questions in
this artwork, which van Gogh maybe leaves them to the viewers. For example,
where are the crows from and where are they flying to? Are they flying towards
the sky or the viewers? If they are flying towards the viewers and painter, it
seems the oppressing feeling will be very strong. I think this is what Van
Gogh leaves for us to imagine.
Conclusion
This is a masterpiece that stirred up a debate about its historical
background, but it is not a key point. What matters are the technique and the
feeling it brings to the viewers. In this painting, we can see that Van Gogh
succeeded in showing the disentangled nature in his picture.
[1] Mary Tompkins Lewis, Impressionism and Post Impressionism
(London: University of California Press, 2007), 271.
[3] Maejie
Vellekoop, Muriel Geldof, Ella Hendriks, Leo Jansen, Alberto de Tagel.Van Gogh's Studio Practice.Brussels: Mercatorfonds, 2013.
[5] Vggallery, Wheatfield With Crows, http://www.vggallery.com/painting/p_0779.htm
Dear Hazel,
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting essay with clear structure. You also included the introduction and conclusion.
You could clearly explain your point of view.
However, you could add the reason why you choose this artwork and why it attract you a lot.
Shirley Lam