Vincent van Gogh – Poppy Field

Poppy Field is a painting Vincent van Gogh made in June 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise, a few weeks before his death: a field full of red poppies and green grass fills the lower two thirds of the canvas, a row of tall, slender trees and dark bushes runs along the horizon, and a restless blue sky swirls above. The original, oil on canvas, measures 73 x 91.5 cm and is in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 50 x 40 to 150 x 120 cm or to your own measurements, and send you a photograph of the finished painting for approval before dispatch.

Poppy Field – Vincent van Gogh

What does Poppy Field show?

The field takes up most of the canvas. Towards the back it is a dense carpet of red and orange dabs, so close together that the poppies merge into one glowing band. Nearer to us they thin out: single red blooms stand among green grass, the larger ones in the bottom left corner, and the grass is laid in long, slanting strokes of green and yellow-green. Pale stalks rise among the flowers and bend in the same direction, and a few small touches of blue are scattered through the red.

Behind the field a narrow strip of light green meadow leads to the horizon. On the left a low blue hill and a band of dark green bushes close the view; right of the centre stands a group of tall, thin trees with dark rounded crowns on slender reddish trunks. Above, the sky fills the top third of the canvas with short, curving strokes of blue, dark blue, cream and pale green that swirl in every direction.

Why does Poppy Field look as if a storm is blowing?

According to the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, the painting was made quickly, and that speed is what makes it look as if a storm is blowing. The paint is laid on thickly and every stroke can be told apart: stripes, smears and dots. The museum adds that a few years earlier Van Gogh had come under the influence of Neo-Impressionism, which puts colour down in dots and stripes rather than flat areas. He experimented with contrasting colours and loosely placed touches, yet in the museum’s words he never fully submitted to that movement’s strict rules.

The English Wikipedia article on this painting quotes the writer Martin Bailey, who called it a composition that verges on the abstract. The colours lie in horizontal bands: the red and green field in front, the dark green trees along the horizon and the restless sky in shades of blue.

What did Van Gogh paint at Auvers in 1890?

In May 1890 Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, a village near Paris, to be closer to the doctor Paul Gachet and to his brother Theo. The Kunstmuseum counts 106 works he made in and around Auvers from the end of May to July 1890: 72 paintings, 33 drawings and one etching. In the museum’s reading they show both the Auvers he saw around him and the one he imagined, the perfect countryside, fertile and green.

He died on 29 July 1890, aged 37, and the museum calls this field one of his last works. Wikipedia dates it to about a month before his death. The museum also points to a detail that comes from working at that pace: an attentive viewer can see traces of other paintings that were stacked on top of it and left marks in paint that was not yet dry.

Where is the original today?

The original is in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague, under the object number 0332858. It is oil on canvas, 73 cm high and 91.5 cm wide, and is catalogued as F636 and JH2027. According to the museum, the painting was recovered from Germany after the Second World War.

The Kunstmuseum Den Haag has seven paintings by Van Gogh in its collection. The museum notes that since the beginning of the twentieth century he has been seen as one of the most important founders of modern art, with a strong influence around 1900 on painters such as Jan Toorop, Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse.

Poppy Field or another painting from Auvers – which should you choose?

All four paintings linked here were painted at Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890. Wheat Field with Crows is a wide field of wheat under a dark sky, with crows flying over it. The Church at Auvers-sur-Oise shows the village church under a deep blue sky. Landscape at Auvers in the Rain shows the fields around the village under falling rain, and Portrait of Dr. Gachet shows the doctor who looked after Van Gogh in Auvers.

Choose this poppy field for strong red against green under a blue sky, the wheat field for a darker, heavier mood, the church for a building, the rain landscape for a quieter scene and the portrait for a single figure.

How is our hand-painted Poppy Field made?

The painter first sketches the line of the horizon, the hill on the left, the group of tall trees and the edge of the field, and checks the proportions against the original. Then come the swirling sky, the dark trees and bushes, the meadow and the grass. The red and orange poppies, the pale stalks and the blue touches go on last. Our oil painting reproduction is painted by hand on canvas, with real impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as they do in the original and catch the light.

On our version the relief shows most in the thick dabs of the poppies, in the curling strokes of the sky and in the long slanting strokes of the grass. A print is completely flat; on our painting every brushstroke stands out in real paint.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite the same.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 50 x 40 or 60 x 50 cm for a narrow wall in a hallway or beside a door, 93 x 75 or 100 x 82 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, and 120 x 95 or 150 x 120 cm above a sofa or on a large wall.

There are 17 sizes: 50 x 40, 60 x 50, 70 x 55, 80 x 60, 80 x 66, 90 x 70, 93 x 75, 100 x 82, 110 x 83, 120 x 90, 120 x 95, 125 x 97, 130 x 106, 135 x 109, 140 x 113, 145 x 116 and 150 x 120 cm (width x height). The original is 91.5 cm wide and 73 cm high, so our closest size is 93 x 75 cm, 1.5 cm wider and 2 cm higher, while 50 x 40, 120 x 95 and 150 x 120 cm keep almost exactly its proportions. The red poppies and the blue sky look best on a white, cream or light grey wall and sit well with natural wood. A painting for the living room should cover about two thirds of the width of the furniture below it.

Hang it with the centre of the canvas about 150 cm above the floor. Above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard, leave 20 to 30 cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the canvas.

What if I need a custom size or a frame?

If none of the 17 sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure in any width and height you need. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote you a price and a delivery time. Every painting we make is mounted on a wooden stretcher, ready to hang.

Our 3D app shows each of our frame profiles on this painting, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood. The app is for choosing the frame only. To see the painting on your own wall, use our separate room placement service. A gold frame warms the red and orange of the poppies, while a white or natural wood one keeps the blue sky and the greens fresh.

How does delivery work, and what is the guarantee?

Every painting is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship it on its stretcher, carefully packed (and framed, if you chose a frame), across the EU with no customs duty. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting to approve. Our returns policy applies to every order.

You will find more of Van Gogh’s famous works among all our Vincent van Gogh paintings, and more about the painter in our article on Vincent van Gogh. If it is a present and you are not sure of the size, a wall art voucher lets the recipient choose.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original Poppy Field today?

In the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague, under the object number 0332858. The museum’s record gives it as oil on canvas, 73 cm high and 91.5 cm wide, painted in June 1890 at Auvers-sur-Oise. According to the museum, the painting was recovered from Germany after the Second World War, and it is one of seven paintings by Van Gogh in its collection.

When and where did Van Gogh paint Poppy Field?

In June 1890, at Auvers-sur-Oise, the village near Paris where he spent the last weeks of his life. He had moved there in May 1890 to be closer to Dr Paul Gachet and to his brother Theo. Wikipedia dates the painting to about a month before his death on 29 July 1890, and the Kunstmuseum calls it one of his last works.

Is Poppy Field one of Van Gogh’s last paintings?

Yes. The Kunstmuseum Den Haag counts it among the 106 works he made in and around Auvers from the end of May to July 1890: 72 paintings, 33 drawings and one etching. He died on 29 July 1890. In the museum’s reading, these last works show both the countryside he saw and the one he imagined, fertile and green.

Why are there marks in the paint of Poppy Field?

Because he worked so fast. The Kunstmuseum explains that an attentive viewer can see traces of other paintings that were stacked on top of this canvas and left an impression in paint that was not yet dry. The museum finds that easy to understand with 106 works made in so short a time.

Did Van Gogh paint other poppy fields?

Yes. Wikipedia notes that this poppy field differs markedly from an earlier painting of the same subject, a field with poppies now in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The version we paint is the one from June 1890 in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.

How big is the original Poppy Field?

73 cm high and 91.5 cm wide, a landscape format of medium size. Our closest size, 93 x 75 cm, is 1.5 cm wider and 2 cm higher than the original. There are 17 sizes from 50 x 40 to 150 x 120 cm, and we also paint it to measure in any width and height.

Which size of Poppy Field suits a living room?

Above a sofa, choose 120 x 95 or 150 x 120 cm, so that the canvas painting covers a good part of the width of the sofa and the red of the poppies reads clearly from across the room. On a narrower wall or above a sideboard, 93 x 75 or 100 x 82 cm works well.

Does your Poppy Field have the raised brushstrokes of the original?

Yes. We paint it in impasto, building up each brushstroke in thick oil, so the surface is raised like Van Gogh’s original. You see this best in the dabs of red and orange poppies, in the curling strokes of the sky and in the long slanting strokes of the grass, where the relief catches the light from the side.

• Subject: a field of red poppies and green grass at Auvers-sur-Oise, with tall slender trees and dark bushes on the horizon and a swirling blue sky above.
• Original: June 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, oil on canvas, 73 x 91.5 cm, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague.
• Ours: a Van Gogh reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 50 x 40 to 150 x 120 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: each painting is made to order, so allow 15 to 45 days, and our 3D app lets you try every frame on this painting before you order.