Wheat Field with Cypresses

Van Gogh painted this landscape outdoors during his stay at Saint-Rémy. In July 1889 he sent Theo drawings of the composition, then made two studio repetitions in September. Similar images in different museums can therefore be separate versions painted by the artist himself.

The dark cypress rises high above the field. Its vertical form provides a contrast to the broad landscape’s other directions.

White and blue clouds use curling strokes. The brush’s direction remains visible and helps distinguish individual forms.

Short directional strokes fill the yellow field. Close viewing shows the wheat’s surface built from individual brush marks.

A blue mountain ridge runs behind the field. Its cool colour separates the distance from the warm foreground.

Rounded green vegetation occupies the left. Bushes, mountains and cypress offer different approaches to describing natural forms.

Outdoor painting continued through drawings and studio repetitions. These versions reveal which relationships of colour and form Van Gogh retained when revisiting an established landscape.