Vincent van Gogh, The Sower, 1888, oil on canvas, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation), Netherlands
Title: The Sower, November 1888
Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Why do we love Van Gogh? Is it the power of his images? Above the sower, a favorite subject of the artist, replenishes the earth on a November day, at the edge of winter. Distributing the seeds that will inevitably sprout the next year, covering the ground with wheat by summer or early autumn. Striding toward us, bowed down, concentrating on his essential task. Behind him the yellow ball of the sun seems suspended, hovering above the earth, dominating the horizon with its solar energy.
Beside his figure a tree bends, tilting at an angle, creating tension in the overall composition. While the thickly brushed mosaic of colors enriches our vision; from the combination of purple, blue, and green tones of the fields to the pink clouds against the chartreuse sky.
The Sower was painted in at Arles during the fall of 1888, when Vincent roomed with another artistic innovator Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh’s time in southern France marked by extraordinary productivity, resulting in some 300 works of art in a fifteen month period.
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