In this post, I am returning to one of my original passions in creating my frenchquest blog: Impressionist Art. Since my introduction to the world of Impressionism in ’94, I have immersed myself in learning about these artists and works by visiting museums, studying art books, watching documentaries, acquiring, and framing prints for my home; just about anything a fervent art lover could do except the most obvious- actually painting. 

This all changed in May of 2017.  God brought Marie, a professional artist, into my life to introduce me to the incredible world of painting. Marie began to teach me to paint through private lessons in her studio, showing me the basic techniques, use of materials and most importantly, allowing me to paint the things that I am passionate about.  I am basically a copyist which is how the Impressionists began.  They copied works in the Louvre.  Wow, oh my goodness. What a joy!

Vincent Van Gogh

Over the years, I have been drawn more and more to the works of Vincent Van Gogh and have spent many hours copying his work. In November, I attended Musée d’Orsay’s Van Gogh A Auvers-Sur-Oise: Les Derniers Mois as these are Van Gogh’s works of which I am most drawn. As soon as I returned home from my trip, I began to devour every page of the Catalog from Auvers-Sur-Oise Exhibit and copy my favorite works, starting with Les Champs, 1890 (Collection particulière). [If you like Van Gogh, I highly recommend purchasing this book produced by Musée d’Orsay and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It is currently available on Amazon (French or English edition)]

Painting Les Champs

According to the Exhibit Catalog, the biographical interpretations of the paintings from Van Gogh’s final months are given with the belief that fluctuations in his mental state affected 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 (Auvers 32).”  Van Gogh himself did not understand his paintings as reflections on his mental state. He was in search of a much more universal meaning which, as we see in his work, can only be achieved based on authentic and personal experience.

Despite Van Gogh’s torments, he also wants to sing the praises of life and nature, which one can see in Les Champs in the panoramic landscapes which seem closely modeled.

According to critique Maurice Beaubourg in 1890, “The sheaves of pale gold cast shadows of silvery and soft colors, almost ravishing. This refined and narrower palette is seen in the last weeks of his life (33).”

In copying Van Gogh’s Les Champs [see Featured image], I started with the fields. I tried to match these soft colors of pale gold by combining zinc and lead white with a touch of violet and cadmium yellow. I’m not sure what type of crops are in this field. Wheat? Barley? What has red blossoms? The faded red lacquer found in the blossoms proved more of a challenge. Typically, we see more vibrant colors in the foreground to show the contrast in more muted hues in the distance; not so in Les Champs as it seems that Van Gogh used the same mixture of red lacquer throughout the painting.

Troubled Skies

As stated earlier in a quote to his brother, Van Gogh expresses sadness and loneliness in his troubled, stormy skies. There is a simplicity of composition here. It was easy to paint in one attempt. I mixed several variations of these clouds using cobalt, Prussian, and cerulean blues, zinc white, and raw umber. There is no calm in this sky, even low to the horizon. The animated movement with heavy impasto comes from the right in a violent fashion, it is closer to the viewer, and keeps the momentum of great movement across the entire picture. Left of the center sky, there is a break in the clouds as Van Gogh illustrates with a large swath of white paint. This could possibly be a single cloud, but with the strong movement, it is doubtful. I love painting skies. This is my favorite part of landscapes.  Notice that his horizon is jumbled, not a typical straight line. This gives the idea that the fields on the right are much larger and closer. It was had to portray this in my painting. It felt very muddled and more like something Cezanne would paint than Van Gogh.

I like the little stream cutting across the field as it brings a nice contrast to the gold. There is also a nice contrast between the purity and tranquility of the stream and the forbidding storm above. Water is a universal representation of life. A respite to our souls, including Van Gogh.

Works Cited

Van Gogh A Auvers-Sur-Oise: Les Derniers Mois. Exhibition Catalog. Sous la direction de Nienke Bakker, Emmanuel Coquery, Teio Meedendorp et Louis Van Tilborgh. Hazan/Musée d’Orsay/ Van Gogh Museum. 2023

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