The Sower

Arles, November 1888 Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

oil on canvas, 32.5 cm x 40.3 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Please note: This painting is not on view in the museum galleries at the moment. It will be part of the exhibition Van Gogh & Japan, on view from 26 August 2017 in the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, after which it will travel to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and The National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto.

Van Gogh had a special interest in sowers throughout his artistic career. All in all, he made more than 30 drawings and paintings on this theme. He painted this sower in the autumn of 1888. At the time, Van Gogh was working together with Paul Gauguin (1848-1903). Gauguin believed that in his work Van Gogh should draw less on reality and more on his imagination.

Here, Van Gogh used colours meant to express emotion and passion. He assigned the leading roles to the greenish-yellow of the sky and the purple of the field. The bright yellow sun looks like a halo, turning the sower into a saint.

F-number

F0451

JH-number

JH1629

Object number

s0029V1962

Credits

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Dimensions

32.5 cm x 40.3 cm, 58.5 cm x 56.5 cm