Montmartre; mills and vegetable gardens — History & Facts
A sandy path runs straight through the centre of the composition, dividing vegetable gardens bordered by low wooden fences. On either side of the path, small plots of earth are carefully cultivated, with rows of green plants and patches of bare soil visible in the foreground. Beyond the gardens, two windmills rise against the pale sky, their sails angled in different directions and their wooden structures rendered with brisk, textured brushstrokes.
The largest windmill stands on a grassy mound to the right, its base surrounded by a fence and a scattering of bare trees. A second windmill appears farther back, partially obscured by a cluster of buildings and a yellowish wall. The sky occupies more than half the canvas, painted in broad, horizontal strokes of blue, white, and hints of yellow, creating a sense of open air and diffuse daylight.
The brushwork is lively and visible throughout, with short, parallel marks in the earth and gardens, and longer, sweeping lines in the sky. The composition is carefully balanced, with the vertical forms of the windmills and trees offsetting the horizontal sweep of the land and sky. A signature, 'Vincent', appears in red in the lower left corner, identifying the artist.
A figure bends over in the left foreground, appearing to tend to the garden with a tool in hand. A chicken stands to the right of the central path, near a blue shed with a slanted roof. In the lower right corner, a small structure with a yellowish roof and blue walls sits behind a thin fence.
The upper left edge of the painting shows the dark roof of an outbuilding, partly cropped by the frame. Pale sunlight falls evenly across the scene, casting only faint shadows beneath the sheds and windmills. The paint is applied in thin, overlapping strokes that create a shimmering effect in the sky and on the earth.
Delicate, sketchy lines describe the bare branches of trees behind the central blue shed and along the right side. Montmartre: mills and vegetable gardens was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1887, during his time in Paris.
Sources: Van Gogh Museum, record s0015V1962 · Wikidata Q18689454
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