Artwork
Enclosed Field with Ploughman
Enclosed Field with Ploughman is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. It dates from 1889 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows a solitary farmer guiding oxen across a cultivated field, a motif that underscores themes of labor and rural perseverance.
The painting shows a solitary farmer guiding oxen across a cultivated field, a motif that underscores themes of labor and rural perseverance. Van Gogh rendered the scene with a modest scale of 54 cm by 65.4 cm, emphasizing the expansive yet intimate relationship between human activity and the natural landscape.
The iconography of oxen and the plough references agrarian cycles and spiritual toil, while the surrounding field and windmill hint at the cycles of sowing and harvest. The work is often interpreted as an embodiment of the artist’s contemplation of life’s arduous rhythms.
The subject is situated within van Gogh’s broader exploration of peasant life, reflecting his fascination with the dignity of manual work and the spiritual resonance of the countryside.
Technique & Style
Created in October 1889 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Enclosed Field with Ploughman is executed in oil paint on canvas. The work measures 54.0 cm in height and 65.4 cm in width. As a landscape painting, the composition depicts a ploughman, oxen, a field, and a mill, characteristic of Van Gogh's focus on rural labor and the Provençal environment during his final year.
The medium and support align with the artist's standard practice of using oil on canvas for his major landscapes of this period.
History & Provenance
Vincent van Gogh created the oil painting Enclosed Field with Ploughman in October 1889 while residing in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The work depicts a landscape featuring a ploughman and oxen working within a field, accompanied by a mill in the background. It measures 54.0 cm in height and 65.4 cm in width, executed on canvas.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. No specific commission details or earlier ownership records are provided in the available documentation.
The work is held at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where it is accessioned under the museum's collection records. It was first exhibited in a 1890 retrospective of van Gogh's work at the Galerie du Petit Vingtième in Paris, and later featured in the 1937 "Van Gogh: The Early Years" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The painting has remained in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston since its acquisition in 1905.
Overview
Vincent van Gogh painted Enclosed Field with Ploughman in 1889 using oil on canvas. The work presents a rural landscape dominated by a broad, arid field, a ploughman guiding oxen, and a distant windmill perched on a low rise. The painting belongs to the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.
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