Van Gogh revisited (19)

This is the 19th in a series on Vincent van Gogh’s works that are featured at the exhibition titled “Van Gogh in Paris: a Dialogue with Modernism” at Seoul Arts Center. ― ED.

"Ploughed Field," or "The Furrows," is one of the wheat field paintings Vincent van Gogh made while he was in Arles from 1888 to 1889. The painting, which came from the collection of the Van Gogh Museum, is estimated to be painted around September 1888.

This artwork showcases Van Gogh's mastery in impasto technique, which refers to thick paint on canvas with visible strokes.

Van Gogh mentioned about this painting in a letter to his brother Theo with a sketch; "A blue sky with white clouds. An immense expanse of ground of an ashy lilac, furrows, innumerable clods of earth, the horizon of blue hills and green bushes and small farmsteads with orange-colored roofs. This is another one that will take a long time to dry; pictures that are thickly painted must be treated like the stronger types of wine; one must let them mature."

However, "ashy lilac" is not visible in the current painting, which suggests a possible fading of colors.