Skip to main content

Main Building

Rain

1889
Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)

Among the subjects Vincent van Gogh returned to several times during his stay at a private clinic outside Arles was an enclosed wheat field visible from his bedroom window. He selected a plunging perspective that emphasized the undulating surface of the newly sown field and the nearby foothills of the Alps. An uneven furrow of earth cuts diagonally across the foreground, an unsettling seam that echoes the wall’s shape. Equally disquieting are the mint-green, baby-blue, and white lines that sit on top of the landscape, creating a screen of raindrops seen close-up. These slashing diagonal strokes document an October rain shower that kept Van Gogh indoors and pay homage to the Japanese woodblock prints he admired that depicted rain in a similar fashion. Van Gogh’s year at the clinic marked a productive phase in his career, despite his struggle with an illness his doctors treated as a type of epilepsy.


Object Details

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.


Main Building