Van Gogh - Wheat Field with Crows (Speed Painting)
Korenveld met kraaien,
Champ de blé aux corbeaux
the Complete Paintings
Introduction
Wheat Field with Crows stands out as one of Vincent van Gogh's most powerful, and most fiercely debated, paintings. The many interpretations of this particular work are probably more varied than any other in Van Gogh's oeuvre. Some see it as Van Gogh's "suicide note" put to canvas, while others delve beyond a superficial overview of the subject matter and favour a more positive approach. And some more extreme critics cast their vision even further--beyond the canvas and the brushstrokes--in order to translate the images into an entirely new language of the subliminal.
Artistic analysis is, by its very nature, a subjective endeavour. Still, the most reasonable interpretations are best undertaken from a foundation based on facts.
Background
Contrary to popular myth Wheat Field with Crows is not Van Gogh's final work. Admittedly, it does make for a neatly wrapped interpretive gift if the painting really were Van Gogh's final work before his suicide. The painting is, without question, turbulent and certainly conveys a sense of loneliness in the fields--a powerful image of Van Gogh as defeated and solitary artist in his final years. Furthermore, both the popular films Lust for Life and Vincent and Theo rewrite history and depict this painting as Van Gogh's last--with more of an interest in dramatic effect than historical accuracy. As is ideally the case, however, an entertaining, though apocryphal, tale should be put to rest in the face of irrefutable fact.