The Red Vineyard

As is well known, Van Gogh did not sell a lot of paintings during his own lifetime. However, at an exhibition in Brussels in 1890, the painting “The Red Vineyard” was sold to collector and impressionist Anna Boch. As such, it must be considered among the most successful paintings for Van Gogh during his own lifetime.

Van Gogh painted “The Red Vineyard” in November of 1888 while he was staying in Arles. The painting featured a heavy use of red and yellow colors to portray the red wines and the power of the sun. The yellow rays of the sun indeed fill up the whole sky and are reflected in the waters of the small pond in the right of the painting as well. The yellow field in the background complements this yellow impression. The brush strokes of the painting are typical Van Gogh, with deep strokes contrasting with each other. We also see that Van Gogh has set an aura around the sun, as we also see in later works like “The Starry Night” around the stars and moon.

“The Red Vineyard” was later sold to Russian collector Sergei Shchukin who also bought “The Night Café” Both were later nationalized and passed on to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.