Not only is Dutch Impressionist Painter Vincent Van Gogh one of the most famous artists, but he is also one of the most prolific painters in history. In a short painting career that spanned just over ten years, Vincent Van Gogh is believed to have created over 2,000 pieces of artwork, with more than 800 paintings.
As an Impressionist artist, Van Gogh often painted the same image or scene repeatedly. This resulted in a long list of Vincent Van Gogh paintings with the same or similar names. Although the scene is technically the same, no two images are exactly alike as each tells a different side of the story, one of the scenes themselves and another of the artist’s state of mind while they were being painted.
One such famous Van Gogh paintings list is his Wheatfield collection. This vast series of paintings is regarded as one of his best, and it was also his last. However, it is arguably the collection of paintings that best showcases the incredible skill Van Gogh’s artwork had reached, as well as the subtle strangeness of a mind and imagination touched by genius.
Wheatfield With Crows
Wheatfield With Crows is one of the best artworks of art in Van Gogh’s entire collection of works. Its simple and minimalistic nature perfectly conveys the magic beauty held within nature at any given moment of time. Van Gogh’s ability to turn a mundane scene into something magical is second to none.
Like other Van Gogh masterpieces such as Starry Night and The Café Terrace At Night, there is a quality of aliveness within the brushstrokes, accompanied by the impressions of the emotions the scene naturally inspires in the viewer. This emotionally driven motivation over a realist reconstruction was the primary objective of the Impressionist movement.
However, unlike Starry Night and The Café Terrace At Night, a dark and malign quality is also present in the painting. The crows are frightened, and the sky and field are both unsettling. This is said to reflect the state of mind of the artist and was one of his final paintings. Today, it proudly resides in the Van Gogh museum in the Netherlands and is widely considered one of his best paintings.
Wheatfield With Cypresses
Cypress trees were a feature Van Gogh particularly fond of. They are present in the most famous Vincent van Gogh artwork and are a symbol that has come to define his painting style. Van Gogh’s cypress drawings describe a wild and almost psychedelic view of nature. Van Gogh’s cypresses dance like flames in the breeze. The impression of the wind in the Dutchmen’s paintings is akin to fire in the destructive and deceptive movement.
There is no better example of this force of nature in action than in Wheatfield With Cypresses. Van Gogh sets the canvas alight with fierce brushstrokes and chaotic contortions of both clouds and field. This expressive style of Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork set the art world ablaze after his unfortunate death.
Wheatfield With Cypresses is one of the best examples of the Impressionist idea of motion. In Van Gogh’s paintings, everything is alive. The sky above and the field below move in unison toward a common goal. Their exaggeration of the natural force of the wind invokes distinct emotions and strong feelings when studied closely.
Wheatfield with Cypress I – Vincent Van Gogh
Sunset: Wheat Fields Near Arles
As already mentioned above, it is common for Impressionist artists to repaint the same scene several times over. Alongside Monet, Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps the most extreme example of this practice of repetition. The Dutch painted dozens upon dozens of paintings of the same subject, with the Wheat Field collection being the most prominent.
In the wheat harvest paintings of Arles, Van Gogh’s experimental techniques are on full display. Van Gogh spent weeks in the fields of Arles during the peak of summer, and all his Arles paintings have the golden glow of the sun as their focus, accompanied by bright red and yellow color tones.
At their core, Van Gogh’s Wheat Field drawings describe the passing of the hours, the changing of the seasons, and the cycle of time. This idea of the passing of time as something fleeting and transient is common amongst Impressionist artists, hence why they painted the same scene a succession of times.
Summer Evening, Wheatfield with Setting sun – Vincent Van Gogh
Wheatfield With A Reaper
Another aspect of Van Gogh’s Wheat Field paintings worth taking a closer look at is their innovative and imaginative flare. Van Gogh’s Impressionist drawings describe a world greater than our own. They are painted as if seen with new eyes looking at the world for the first time.
There is a haunting and dreamlike quality to their composition. They can be both somewhat unnerving and, at the same time, utterly sublime and surreal. Vincent Van Gogh’s drawings are the working of a visionary mind like no other. His Wheatfield paintings alone are proof of his unprecedented genius and artistic vision.
There are so many other incredible wheat field works in Van Gogh’s list of paintings that they can’t all be discussed or appreciated at once. Here are some other well-known pieces worth mentioning;
- Harvest at La Crau
- Harvest in Provence
- Wheat Sheaves and Rising Moon
- Wheat Fields in a Mountainous Landscape
- The Sower
Conclusion
Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings are one of a kind in every word. His unique perspective and view of the world not only made him one of the most famous painters of all time but also changed the world of art forever. This list of Vincent Van Gogh paintings is just a snippet of the full collection of his Wheatfield masterpieces. Each of them deserves to be appreciated and applauded as some of the greatest artwork ever painted.
