Landscape with Rabbits

Van Gogh's landscape studies with animal subjects from his Paris period reflect his continued engagement with Barbizon pastoral tradition — Troyon, Dupré, and Daubigny had all included livestock in their landscapes as elements of the rural social fabric. Rabbits in a landscape occupy an unusual position in Van Gogh's work, which more often focuses on peasant labour than wildlife. The painting belongs to the series of relatively small, spontaneous outdoor studies he produced in the suburbs of Paris before his departure for Arles, when landscape rather than the human figure was his primary formal preoccupation.

Loose, impressionistic handling with green and ochre tones building the landscape. The rabbits are indicated with a few rapid marks in pale grey-white rather than carefully modelled. The overall handling is spontaneous and sketch-like, suggesting a rapid outdoor study.