One of the highlights of my recent trip to Paris was to see the Van Gogh Exhibit of works produced during the last two months of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris.
While living in Auvers, Van Gogh produced 74 paintings and 33 drawings including two of his most famous Wheatfield with Crows and The Church at Auvers. I will highlight a few of my favorites in this blog.
Marguerite Gachet in the Garden (1890) This painting is part of the permanent collection at the Musée d’Orsay. It is always top of my list of “must see” when I visit.
Church at Auvers : is possibly the Mona Lisa of the d’Orsay!.
Jardin à Auvers (1890): is in a private collection so can only be viewed by the public (c’est moi) in an Exhibition. I love the varied brushstrokes in this painting, almost pointillism, which combine swirls, dots, and strong outlines. So unique.
Vase aux fleurs (Juin 1890): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, on my Bucket List—it was closed for renovation the two times I visited Amsterdam. Thank you, d’Orsay for including one of my favorite still life paintings in this Exhibit. The green vase contrasted by the white, pink, and red bouquet is so aesthetically pleasing. Classic.
Pluie (18 Juillet 1890) National Museum, Wales. How does one portray rain in a painting? Van Gogh mastered this. He copied the style of Hiroshige in the simplicity of a Japanese print here.
I saved the best for last!
Champ de blé sous des nuages d’orage
The main draw the this exhibit for me for me was the iconic Champ de blé sous des nuages d’orage (Van Gogh Museum) which he painted on 9 Juillet 1890, (Wheatfield under storm clouds).
I have copied this painting numerous times over the past few years. Cloudy skies and seascapes are my favorite themes to paint using this palette: Cobalt, Prussian, Ultramarine, and Cerulean blues; Viridian and emerald greens; Zinc and Lead whites with a touch of violet and cadmium yellow for the clouds; Vermillion, Yellow Ochre, and Raw Sienna. This brings such calm and peace to my soul. I am especially drawn to the horizon where the sky meets the calm waters. What lies beyond?
Copying Champ de blé sous des nuages d’orage
There are several challenges in copying Champ de blé. First, I cannot seem to capture his darkest blues on the horizon-my dark blues turn to black. I crave this color; I need to reproduce this color. How often do we see storm clouds portrayed in blue tones only as in Van Gogh’s Champ de blé? No gray, brown, or green hues?
The second challenge is reproducing the white clouds. This are not the typical cumulus or cumulonimbus storm clouds set against an angry sky. Each brush stroke is visible, and Van Gogh probably used very thick brushes and a palette knife to convey this.
The third, and most important challenge, is that, unfortunately, I have a very hard time capturing the mood and tonal quality of Van Gogh’s Champ de blé. Perhaps it is because I do not possess the angst in my soul of Van Gogh. He spent his final two months in Auvers-sur-Oise, order to gain a renewal of spirit and development in his work.
Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo while living in Auvers-sur-Oise:
“There are vast fields of wheat under troubled skies, and I did not need to go out of my way to try to express sadness and extreme loneliness.”
Sadly, this depression and loneliness would lead to his demise.On Sunday, July 27th two weeks after painting Champ de blé, Van Gogh took out a revolver and shot himself just below the chest. He would die in his brother Theo’s arms two days later.
Works Cited
Van Gogh Auvers-sur-Oise Exhibition, The Final Months.
Musée d’Orsay. From October 03rd, 2023 to February 04th, 2024:
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/whats-on/exhibitions/van-gogh-auvers-sur-oise
My French Quest 
I saw this exhibition too, it was fabulous
Wonderful pieces. In your paintings are your using oils or acrylics. I do most of my painting with acrylics. I learned a lot of my painting skills from Bob Ross, but trying to emulate his work with acrylics is quite a challenge. Oils lay down on the canvas in a totally different way.
Now I am experimenting with watercolors, which again are totally different!
Dwight
Hi Dwight, I use acrylics, pastels, and watercolors. I have not mustered the courage to use oils! I have been copying Van Gogh’s oil paintings by using acrylics and unfortunately cannot come close to his technique or palette.
I love watercolors. To me, it is the most honest form of painting. I do have to mix mediums as acrylics will hide my mistakes in watercolors! Robyn
Wonderful. I found oils the hardest to work with as well. But, it is hard to imitate oils when using acrylics. They dry fast and seem to be less forgiving when moving them around on the canvas. I am finding watercolors an interesting adventure. And, I too have used acrylics to correct them, but the acrylics do show slightly. Have you ever used acrylics as watercolors. That gives a really vibrant feel to them.
Thanks for sharing.
Dwight