The Red Vineyard

The Red Vineyard, painted in Montmajour in November 1888, holds the distinction of being the only painting Van Gogh is documented to have sold during his lifetime — purchased by the Belgian painter Anna Boch for 400 francs at the Les XX exhibition in Brussels in 1890. He painted it after witnessing at sunset what he described to Theo as 'a red vineyard, all red like red wine.' The vineyard labourers, gathered in the lurid evening light, gave him a Millet-derived subject transfigured by the new chromatic intensity of his Arles period. Now in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow, it remains one of the most iconic works of the period.

Saturated vermilion and crimson dominate the vineyard, set against a glowing yellow-orange sky and violet shadows. The figures are loosely indicated with dark strokes. Paint is applied in swirling, interlocked brushstrokes that animate the entire surface with rhythmic energy.