Evening: The End of the Day (after Millet)

Van Gogh's Evening: The End of the Day (after Millet), painted at Saint-Rémy in 1889 and now at the Menard Art Museum in Japan, is one of his many free interpretations of Millet's black-and-white engravings translated into full color. This Millet subject — a peasant at the end of a working day, removing his shoes in the fading light — carries the tender dignity that Van Gogh found throughout Millet's oeuvre. His translation into color transforms Millet's tonal drama into a symphony of warm oranges and blues characteristic of his Saint-Rémy palette. The Menard Museum holds several significant Van Gogh works.

Van Gogh's coloristic interpretation of the Millet subject fills the monochrome original with warm oranges, yellows, and the cooler blues of evening light. The figure removing his shoes at day's end is rendered with sympathetic observation. His Saint-Rémy technique animates every surface with the characteristic swirling energy of that period.