Vincent van Gogh – The Red Vineyard

The Red Vineyard is the painting Vincent van Gogh made near Arles in early November 1888, during the grape harvest close to Montmajour abbey: vines blazing red and orange under a low evening sun, small figures bent over the harvest and a strip of water shining on the right. The original measures 73 x 91 cm and hangs in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 41 x 33 to 190 x 151 cm or to your own measurement, and send you a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.

The Red Vineyard – Vincent van Gogh

What does The Red Vineyard show?

The view runs over a vineyard at harvest time, under a sky glowing yellow. At the upper right a low sun hangs like a pale disc in rings of light, and all the colour of the evening seems to pour down from it onto the field. The vines fill most of the canvas in reds, oranges and touches of yellow, as if the leaves were burning. In the middle distance a horse and cart wait on the track.

Across the vineyard small figures are at work: women in blue and dark dresses bend over the vines, cut the grapes and carry them away in baskets. On the right a strip of water reflects the yellow sky, and on the far left a row of blue-green trees closes the view. In the foreground the red of the leaves turns into lilac and violet on the path, laid on in short, thick strokes that make the whole surface seem to move.

Why is The Red Vineyard called the painting Van Gogh sold?

In early 1890 the canvas was shown in Brussels at the annual exhibition of Les XX, a group of avant-garde artists. Soon after the exhibition the Belgian painter Anna Boch, a member of the group, acquired it; the Pushkin Museum gives the price as 350 francs, while other sources give 400. Anna was the sister of the painter Eugène Boch, whose portrait Van Gogh had painted in Arles in the autumn of 1888.

Because of this sale The Red Vineyard is often described as the only painting Van Gogh sold during his lifetime. The museum puts it more carefully and calls it one of the few paintings sold while he was alive, and some historians point out that he sold at least one more work. What is certain is that it is the best-known sale of his career, made a few months before his death in July 1890.

What does The Red Vineyard mean?

The Pushkin Museum reads the scene as more than a landscape: the motif takes on the character of a parable. Everything seems to melt in the heat of the evening sun, and the red of the vineyard is full of restless tones that sink into lilac, like ashes, in the foreground. The small figures bringing in the harvest become a symbol of life itself, shown as hard daily work.

The colour carries that meaning. Van Gogh did not paint the vines as they look at noon but pushed them towards fire, and he set the blue and dark clothing of the workers against the reds and oranges so that each colour makes the other stronger. The pale sun in a yellow haze gives the canvas the feeling of a hot late afternoon at the end of the season.

Where does the original hang, and how did it reach Moscow?

The original hangs in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, in its collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European art, under the inventory number Ж-3372. The museum gives the date as November 1888, the technique as oil on canvas and the size as 73 x 91 cm; Wikipedia lists slightly larger measurements, 75 x 93 cm.

After Anna Boch acquired it in 1890, the painting stayed in private hands. In 1909 the Moscow collector Ivan Morozov bought it from a gallery in Paris, and his collection later passed to the state.

Which other Van Gogh paintings from Arles go with The Red Vineyard?

The Red Vineyard belongs to Van Gogh’s most productive year, 1888 in Arles, and we paint several works from those months. Two months earlier, in September 1888, he painted the night by the river in Starry Night over the Rhône, and in the same autumn the lit café in Café Terrace at Night. In August he had painted the yellow still life for his house, Sunflowers I.

If you want the warm, glowing colours of day and harvest, choose The Red Vineyard; for the deep blues of night, choose the Rhône or the café. The best-known of all his skies, The Starry Night, came a year later, in June 1889 in Saint-Rémy.

How is our hand-painted Red Vineyard made?

The painter first draws the horizon, the sun, the track with the cart, the strip of water and the groups of figures, and checks the proportions against the original. Then come the yellow sky and the rings around the sun, next the vineyard in layers of red, orange and yellow, and last the blue figures and the lilac path in the foreground. Our oil painting reproduction is painted by hand in oil 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.

Here the relief matters: the vines are built from short, heavy strokes, and the light on their edges makes the red flicker. A print shows only a flat surface; on our painting the strokes and the layers of paint are real.

Every painting is a hand-painted copy made for your order, so no two are quite the same. Before dispatch we photograph it and send you the photograph to approve.

Which size for which wall?

Short answer: 70 x 60 or 80 x 65 cm above a chest of drawers or in a smaller room, 120 x 100 or 135 x 109 cm above a sofa or a double bed, and 150 x 120 cm or more for a large empty wall. The landscape format suits long furniture and wide walls.

There are 17 sizes: 41 x 33, 50 x 40, 55 x 45, 60 x 50, 70 x 60, 80 x 65, 90 x 71, 100 x 80, 105 x 85, 110 x 90, 120 x 100, 135 x 109, 150 x 120, 160 x 127, 170 x 134, 180 x 142 and 190 x 151 cm (width x height). The 90 x 71 cm size is practically the same as the original, which is 91 cm wide and 73 cm high, so the harvest on your wall is as big as it is in the museum. 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 or a headboard, leave 20 to 30 cm between the furniture and the bottom edge.

What if I need a custom size or a frame?

If none of the 17 sizes fits your wall, we paint it to measure. We recommend keeping the proportions close to the original, otherwise the field and the sky get squeezed or stretched. Send us the width and height you want and we will quote a price and a lead time. Every painting we make is stretched over a wooden stretcher and ready to hang.

For the moulding, use our 3D application: it shows each of our frame profiles on this subject, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood before you decide – the application is for choosing the frame only. If you would like to see how the painting will look on your own wall, that is our separate room placement service. The reds and yellows of the vineyard suit a warm gold profile or a dark wooden frame.

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 stretched and protected, framed if you chose a frame, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve; if anything is not right, we correct it while the canvas is still in our workshop. Our returns policy applies to every order.

More famous Van Gogh paintings are in the Vincent van Gogh gallery, and there is more about the painter in our article on Vincent van Gogh. If it is a gift and you are not sure of the size, a wall art voucher lets the recipient choose size and subject.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original The Red Vineyard?

The original hangs in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, under the inventory number Ж-3372, in the museum’s collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European art. It reached Moscow in 1909, when the collector Ivan Morozov bought it in Paris. It is in neither Amsterdam nor Paris today.

When and where did Van Gogh paint The Red Vineyard?

In early November 1888, near Arles in the south of France. The Pushkin Museum says he painted it near Montmajour abbey during the grape harvest. It belongs to his most productive year: in the same year he also painted his sunflowers, the café terrace at night and the starry night over the Rhône.

Is The Red Vineyard the only painting Van Gogh sold?

It is the best-known one, and it is often called the only painting he sold during his lifetime. The Pushkin Museum is more careful and calls it one of the few paintings sold while he was alive, and some historians point to at least one other sale. The background is summarised on Wikipedia.

Who bought The Red Vineyard, and for how much?

The Belgian painter Anna Boch acquired it in 1890, soon after it was shown at the exhibition of Les XX in Brussels. The Pushkin Museum gives the price as 350 francs; other sources give 400. Anna was the sister of Eugène Boch, a painter whose portrait Van Gogh had painted in Arles in 1888.

Why are the vines red in The Red Vineyard?

Because it is harvest time and the vine leaves have turned red in autumn, and because Van Gogh pushed that colour further under a low evening sun. The museum describes the foliage as full of restless red tones that change into lilac in the foreground. The result looks less like a field than like a fire.

What do the figures in The Red Vineyard stand for?

They are the grape pickers at work, mostly women bending over the vines and carrying the harvest. The Pushkin Museum reads them as a symbol of life itself, which Van Gogh presents as exhausting daily toil. Small against the burning field and the huge sun, they make the scene feel like a parable rather than a plain landscape.

How big is the original The Red Vineyard?

The museum gives 73 cm in height and 91 cm in width, a size that already hangs well above a sideboard or a chest of drawers. Our 90 x 71 cm size is practically the same as the original, and there are smaller and larger sizes from 41 x 33 up to 190 x 151 cm, as well as custom sizes.

Is the original The Red Vineyard for sale, and what is it worth?

No, the original is not for sale. It belongs to the collection of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, so it has no market price. What we can state is the price of our hand-painted version, shown on this page for the size you choose: a real canvas painting in oil for your own wall.

Does your Red Vineyard have the raised brushstrokes of the original?

Yes. We paint our Red Vineyard in impasto: the paint goes on thickly, so the brushstrokes stand up from the canvas as on Van Gogh’s original. You see it best in the vines and around the sun, where the short strokes catch the light. A print cannot have this relief, because its surface is flat.

Which size of The Red Vineyard goes above a sofa?

For a standard three-seat sofa, 120 x 100 cm is the usual choice; for a long corner sofa or a wide wall, 135 x 109 or 150 x 120 cm. The painting should cover about two thirds of the sofa’s width, with its bottom edge 20 to 30 cm above the backrest.

• Subject: grape pickers in a red vineyard near Arles under a low evening sun.
• Original: November 1888, Arles, 73 x 91 cm, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
• Ours: a Van Gogh reproduction painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 17 sizes from 41 x 33 to 190 x 151 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch.