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A field of golden wheat under a dark blue storm sky, three paths leading nowhere, and a flock of black crows flying up. Painted in July 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, Wheatfield with Crows is often called Van Gogh's last painting, though it probably is not.
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The last weeks in Auvers
In May 1890 Vincent van Gogh left the asylum of Saint-Rémy and moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, a village north of Paris, where Dr Paul Gachet agreed to watch over him. In seventy days he painted about seventy-five paintings, among them a series of large landscapes in a long, double-square format showing the wheat fields on the plateau above the village.
Wheatfield with Crows belongs to this series. It was painted in early July 1890, a few weeks before Van Gogh shot himself in the fields on 27 July; he died two days later.
The stormy sky
The sky is a deep, turbulent blue, almost black at the top, painted with heavy, swirling strokes. Two white clouds float in the darkness. The storm seems to press down on the field, giving the painting its sense of tension and foreboding.
Detail 1
The dark sky
The sky is built from thick strokes of deep blue and black, with two pale clouds. It presses down on the field like an approaching storm.
The crows
Over the field rise dozens of black crows, painted with simple V-shaped strokes, flying towards or away from the viewer. Crows were often seen as birds of ill omen, which has encouraged a dark reading of the painting. But Van Gogh had painted crows in wheat fields before, and in the countryside they were a common sight at harvest time.
Detail 2The flight of crows
The crows are just a few dark brushmarks, yet they create a powerful sense of movement and noise over the field.
The three paths
Three paths run through the field: one in the centre, made of red-brown earth bordered with green grass, leading into the wheat and stopping; and two on the sides, curving out of the picture. None of them leads anywhere clearly. Some have seen them as a symbol of indecision or of a dead end, while others see simply the rough tracks of a working field.
Detail 3The path that stops
The central path runs into the wheat and disappears. Its abrupt end is one of the most discussed details of the painting.
Detail 4Grass at the edge
Bright green grass borders the red path on the left, its colour clashing with the red and yellow. Van Gogh used complementary contrasts to make the colours vibrate.
Sadness and the healing power of the countryside
It is tempting to read the painting as a farewell. But in a letter to Theo and his wife Jo around 10 July 1890, Van Gogh described these new canvases of "immense stretches of wheat under troubled skies", saying he had not needed to go out of his way to express sadness and extreme loneliness, but adding that he hoped they would also show what he found healthy and strengthening about the countryside. The painting holds both feelings.
Was it his last painting?
The film Lust for Life (1956) and many books presented Wheatfield with Crows as Van Gogh's final work. Research by the Van Gogh Museum suggests that his last painting was more likely Tree Roots, an unfinished canvas painted on the day he shot himself. Wheatfield with Crows was painted a little earlier, though still in the final weeks of his life.
Seeing Wheatfield with Crows
The painting measures about 50 by 103 centimetres and is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
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Is Wheatfield with Crows Van Gogh's last painting?
It is often said to be, but research suggests his last painting was probably Tree Roots. Wheatfield with Crows was painted in early July 1890.
Where was Wheatfield with Crows painted?
It was painted in the wheat fields above Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris.
What do the crows mean?
Crows are often seen as omens of death, but they were also a common sight in fields at harvest time; Van Gogh had painted them before.
Where is Wheatfield with Crows?
It is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Sources and further reading
- Van Gogh Museum, collection notes on Wheatfield with Crows
- Vincent van Gogh, letter to Theo and Jo van Gogh, c. 10 July 1890
- Louis van Tilborgh and Teio Meedendorp, research on Van Gogh's final paintings (Van Gogh Museum)
