In the summer of 1889, during his voluntary stay at the asylum of Saint-Rémy, Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo about his efforts to find peace in painting the countryside, mentioning "a green meadow with rabbits running." Landscape with Rabbits is one of the rare works where van Gogh directly references these small animals, and its very existence is a subject of debate among scholars, as the painting is known primarily from early inventories and a handful of black-and-white photographs; the medium remains unconfirmed. The painting’s elusive status has fueled ongoing speculation about whether it was lost, misattributed, or perhaps destroyed in the turmoil of the early twentieth century. At a glance, the scene captures a fleeting moment: rabbits darting through tall, sunlit grasses under a swirling Provençal sky. The brushwork is restless and urgent, each stroke alive with the energy of the animals themselves.

The rabbits, rendered in quick dashes of white and brown, seem to vanish into the landscape, their forms barely held by the paint. Unlike the more tranquil animal studies of Jean-François Millet, whom van Gogh admired, this work is charged with motion and a sense of vulnerability, perhaps reflecting the artist’s own fragile state. The light, fractured and intense, spills across the field, echoing the emotional turbulence of van Gogh’s late period. The physical history of Landscape with Rabbits is as uncertain as its imagery is vivid.

No confirmed patron or early exhibition is recorded, and the painting’s whereabouts have been unknown since at least the 1920s. Some catalogs list it among the lost works of van Gogh, while others suggest it may have been sold under another name or medium. Today, it survives as a tantalizing entry in the artist’s oeuvre, a reminder of his fascination with rural life during his most prolific and troubled year.

Whether it will ever resurface remains an open question, but its legend continues to intrigue collectors and scholars alike.