Van Gogh was moved by the peaceful landscapes of Auvers, a small place in the South of France where Vincent lived in 1890. The new surroundings did him well. Vincent hoped to live healthier here than back in Paris, where he began to dislike the busy life.
In a letter to his brother Theo he writes about the difference of Paris and Auvers:
“One could express the purer nature of a countryside compared with the suburbs and cabarets of Paris.”
The view of the landscapes in Auvers became an essential point in his paintings. Vincent got lots of inspiration of this new region. The colorful and inspiring nature cheered Vincent up. It made him forget his bad health, his nightmares and money problems. Vincent was happy when he could paint beautiful natural environments such as here in Auvers.
Being inspired by nature clearly shows that Vincent was a forerunner in various art movements such as the “Jugendstil”, also known as “Art Nouveau”. The Jugendstil movement had for example the slogan “Back to nature”. It’s very impressive too see what Vincent’s influence was on later art movements. Something Vincent never dared to dream of!
This painting also shows that Vincent mastered the Impressionist approach of painting. The quick brush strokes are clearly visible. The variable touch in this painting makes the field come out very nice.
Current Location: Kunsthalle, Bremen, Germany