On June 18, 1888, Vincent wrote about this painting in his letter to Emile Bernard. In this letter, he writes about two paintings: The Sower and this painting Sunset: Wheatfields near Arles.
‘Herewith another landscape. Setting sun? Rising moon?
A summer evening, anyway.
Town purple, celestial body yellow, sky green-blue. The wheat has all the hues of old gold, copper, green-gold or red-gold, yellow-gold, yellow-bronze, and red-green. Size 30 canvas, square.
I painted it at the height of the mistral. My easel was fixed in the ground with iron pegs, a method I recommend to you. You push the legs of the easel deep into the ground, then drive iron pegs fifty centimeters long into the ground beside them. You tie the whole lot together with rope. This way you can work in the wind.