Painting Focus: Autumn Landscape (1885)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) is best known for paintings full of his feverishly swirling layers of color. But Van Gogh was capable of surprising realism when it came to plants, still lifes and landscapes. One of his most realistic paintings is sadly one of his least known. “Autumn Landscape” is a large oil on canvass completed just five years before the painter’s legendary death.

In this painting, two long rows of trees descend in a sharp line away from the viewer. Four birds, possibly crows, fly above the trees and against the cloudy light blue sky. The trees seem to line a path but we cannot see where that path leads to. Van Gogh did a series of tree-based landscape paintings during this time but this painting looks slightly different from the others.

Beginning Style

In 1885, Van Gogh was still trying to find his unique style through the expensive medium of paint. 1885 was the year of his first major work, The Potato Eaters (1885.)Van Gogh had only been drawing for a few years. He was far behind his fellow artists, who, for the most part, had begun training when they were children. He was often criticized for his painting by his contemporaries.

However, because he started painting so late in his life, he was able to develop a unique style. In Autumn Landscape, he seems to try imitating the smoothness of contemporary Dutch painters. In the tree trunks and long dried grasses, especially, the viewer can see the thick swaths of paint laid down by Van Gogh. Van Gogh's style is starting to emerge, but he is still trying to control it to meet current tastes in art.

The Path Without A Destination

Van Gogh's failure as a minister to an impoverished mining community left him wanting to be an artist. He lived with this father at this time at the village of Nuenen. Van Gogh's father was the village minister. There is now a museum in Nuenen, including an "outdoor museum" marking the spots where Van Gogh is thought to have parked his easel while producing paintings like Autumn Landscape.

Van Gogh seems unsure of where his life will lead, as the path through the trees suggests. The path is clearly seen but the destination is unknown. Although an autumn painting, green is still seen in the leaves, intermingling with yellows and oranges. Life is still visible among the pretty dead leaves.