Year 1889 (1889) Artist Vincent van Gogh | Medium oil on canvas Created 1889 | |
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Dimensions 74 cm × 92.1 cm (29 in × 36.25 in) Location Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana Similar Vincent van Gogh artwork, Other artwork | ||
Enclosed Field with Peasant is an oil painting by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, painted in October 1889. It is currently part of the permanent collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
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Description
The painting's hurried lines accentuate a vibrant, moving field. The whole painting seems to pulsate with life, even though only one human is shown. It is the most topographically accurate of four views of a wheat field at the base of the Alpilles. Van Gogh intended this piece to be a pendant with the painting The Reaper. Van Gogh's iconic style and layering embrace the canvas, making the viewer's eye travel all around the painting. Enclosed Field with Peasant is a great example of Van Gogh's late work, where his dynamic brush strokes take control of the painting.
Historical information
Enclosed Field with Peasant was created during one of the most tumultuous parts of Van Gogh's life, after he voluntarily committed himself to an asylum in Saint-Rémy. He was recuperating from a nervous breakdown he suffered on Christmas Eve in 1888, during a visit with fellow postimpressionist Paul Gauguin.
Acquisition
Enclosed Field with Peasant was inherited by van Gogh's brother, Theo van Gogh after his brother's death. He gave the painting to his wife, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger as a gift. In May 1905, it was sold to Paul Cassirer, and then to Robert von Mendelssohn. It was inherited by his wife, Giulietta von Mendelssohn, upon his death, and upon her death, was passed to her children, Elenora and Francesco von Mendelssohn. It was given on consignment to J.K. Thannhauser in New York, from where it was sold to Mrs. Caroline Mermon Fesler. Mrs. Fesler gave the painting to the John Herron Art Institute, now known as the Indianapolis Museum of Art, in 1944.