The sower, 1888
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Oil on Canvas, 32 x 40 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Vincent van Gogh Stichting)
F 451

Van Gogh made a number of variations on a theme depicting a sower in front of a setting sun. Especially striking in this version are the bright, unnatural colours and the unusual composition, in which the knotty tree in the foreground constitutes a diagonal division of the canvas. His inspiration for this may have come from a Japanese print.