Golden wheat fills the foreground, where thick, swirling brushstrokes create a sense of movement and texture across the field. Among the tall wheat, a single figure with a broad-brimmed hat and pale shirt works near the center, bending forward with a tool in hand. At the lower edge, patches of green vegetation and curling, dark foliage frame the base of the field.

Beyond the wheat, a horizontal band of green trees and shrubs separates the golden field from a band of blue and violet buildings on the horizon. White plumes rise above the rooftops in the distance, drifting into a sky painted with wide, energetic strokes of blue, violet, and white. Large, curling clouds occupy the upper left and center of the sky, their forms echoed by the brushwork in the wheat below.

The composition is arranged so that the field dominates the lower two-thirds of the canvas, while the open sky stretches above, giving a sense of vast space. Brushstrokes remain visible throughout, with short, curved marks in the wheat and longer, horizontal strokes across the sky and buildings. The palette is dominated by yellows and ochres in the foreground, shifting to greens, blues, and violets toward the horizon and sky.

Paint is applied thickly in some areas, especially in the wheat and foliage, creating a textured surface that catches the light. Vincent van Gogh painted this scene in Arles in June 1888. The subject is a rural field with a reaper at work among harvested wheat, with hay sheaves and a distant village.