“View of Vessenots Near Auvers” by Vincent van Gogh

“View of Vessenots Near Auvers” by Vincent van Gogh depicts the landscape of ‘Les Vessenots,’ on the outskirts of Auvers. Van Gogh shows a village of country cottages with thatched roofs placed just below a raised horizon in the background.

In the foreground, wheat fields dominate the composition with swaying trees on the borders. The bright greens and yellows applied with thick brushstrokes follow a repetitive, undulating rhythm, which was characteristic of van Gogh’s final works.

Van Gogh painted many landscapes in the weeks before his death; he was always working outdoors. The expanses of fertile fields gave him a sense of freedom, but at the same time, he felt a melancholy and loneliness.

Van Gogh painted his landscapes from life, but he shows us a personal view by creating a new and unique visual form for the impressions that he saw.

In May 1890, Vincent van Gogh traveled to a small village thirty-five kilometers north of Paris where Doctor Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, the physician, and art collector, lived.

Theo van Gogh, the artist’s brother, had entrusted the care of his brother to the doctor at the recommendation of Camille Pissarro.

Despite lasting scarcely two months, the Auvers period was extremely productive. During what would the last weeks of his life, Vincent painted several portraits and many landscapes.

It would be one of these cornfields that he painted during his final weeks were, Van Gogh, is mysteriously shot on the morning of 27 July 1890.

In his last letter to his brother, he wrote that he always retained a glimmer of hope in his art:

“The truth is we can only make our pictures speak.”

Doctor Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was the first owner of this painting.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime and was considered a madman and a failure.

He created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life.

They were characterized by bold colors and dramatic, impulsive, and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art.