National Gallery, London
Vincent van Gogh had a difficult and troubled life. He was born in Holland but went to paint in France. He had very few friends and had difficulty selling his paintings. Luckily he had the support of his brother Theo and a doctor for whom he painted pictures. This landscape is a good example of his style. In the painting, everything seems to have a life of its own. The clouds are like great beasts that roll across the sky, the waving grain reaches out like hands, the mountains are rumbling and the cypress pine looks quite dangerous. Vincent used each brush stroke to help create this flame-like movement. Another important thing in this painting is contrast. The colours change from warm reddish-orange to ice-blue. The big dark tree to the right is in tonal contrast with the white clouds. The vertical direction of the tree is in contrast to the horizontal direction of the landscape. In 1890, Vincent took his own life after painting hundreds of pictures in only five years.