Created from high-quality wood, milled with simple clean lines and presented with a satin finish. Includes an off-white mount that will not discolour or fade with age. - Simple, elegant design - Premium, fine art paper with a gently textured surface - Handmade by specialist picture framers - FSC certified off-white mat / window mount - Delivered ready for hanging

Title: *Wheatfield with a Reaper*
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Year: 1889
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 73.0 cm x 92.0 cm (28.7 in x 36.2 in)
Current Location: The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Foreground:
The painting "Wheatfield with a Reaper" captures a sun-drenched wheatfield, its golden hues dominating the canvas. The forefront is characterized by a dense array of wheat stalks, depicted with robust, swirling brushstrokes typical of Van Gogh's distinctive style. These strokes create a dynamic, almost turbulent effect, giving life and movement to the landscape. At the center-left of the foreground, a solitary reaper, small in scale but significant in presence, is hard at work. He is clad in a simple blue garment, and his form is rendered with an almost silhouette-like simplicity.

Middle Ground:
Moving further into the scene, the middle ground is an extension of the wheatfield, rolling gently and mimicking the undulating hills often seen in Van Gogh's work. The brushwork in this section becomes slightly less dense, allowing the color of the canvas to break through the layers of paint, adding texture and depth. The expansive field stretches towards the horizon, emphasizing the vastness of the rural landscape.

Background:
In the background, the painting captures a range of blue-hued hills which provide a stark contrast to the golden tones of the wheatfield. The sky above them is a bright, clear blue, almost devoid of clouds, adding to the overall warmth of the scene. The mountains have a sculptural quality, their forms carefully contoured with sinuous lines that suggest a deep admiration for the natural world’s contours and shapes.

Color Palette and Technique:
Van Gogh employs a vibrant color palette, dominated by yellows, blues, and greens. The yellows of the wheatfield are striking, varying from pale to deep tones, and enriched by touches of ochre and amber. The reaper’s blue clothing and the blue hills in the distance cool the scene, preventing the yellows from becoming overpowering. Van Gogh’s signature impasto technique is evident in the thick application of paint, creating a tactile surface that invites viewers to explore the texture as much as the imagery itself.

Emotional and Symbolic Elements:
The solitary reaper can be seen as a symbol of the cycle of life, evoking themes of labor, sustenance, and the passage of time. The reaper’s presence in this vast, luminous field suggests a meditative solitude, almost spiritual in nature. The painting exudes a sense of peace and contentment, perhaps reflecting Van Gogh's moments of serenity amidst his turbulent life.

Vincent van Gogh:
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter known for his expressive and emotive use of color and bold brushwork. His career, though brief, produced some of the most iconic and influential works in Western art.

Period and Artistic Movement:
"Wheatfield with a Reaper" was painted in 1889, during Van Gogh's stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. This period is considered one of the most prolific and artistically significant phases of his career. Despite his struggles with mental health, Van Gogh produced several masterpieces during his stay, encapsulating his intense emotional responses to the world around him. This painting is part of a series of works depicting the wheatfields surrounding the asylum, which Van Gogh often viewed as symbols of the eternal cycles of nature and human toil.

In the Broader Scope of Van Gogh's Work:
"Wheatfield with a Reaper" fits within Van Gogh's larger oeuvre in its strong use of color, emotive brushwork, and focus on rural life. The painting is an excellent example of his post-impressionist style, characterized by vivid colors, dramatic and expressive techniques, and a profound engagement with nature and the human condition.

The painting is part of the permanent collection at The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the largest collection of Van Gogh's works in the world. The museum provides an in-depth view of Van Gogh's short but brilliant career, allowing visitors to trace the evolution of his style and thematic concerns.

- Series Context: Van Gogh painted several works featuring the reaper, symbolizing the harvester of souls, influenced by his deep reading and philosophical reflections during his time at the asylum.
- Brushwork: The painting exemplifies Van Gogh’s thick, energetic brushstrokes, which convey a sense of motion and vitality