Vincent van Gogh

Dutch, active in France, 1853-1890

La maison de La Crau (The Old Mill), 1888

oil on canvas

support: 25 1/2 x 21 1/4 inches (64.77 x 53.975 cm); framed: 32 3/4 x 28 11/16 x 4 1/4 inches (83.18 x 72.87 x 10.8 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, 1966

1966:9.22

Collection Highlight

More Details

Inscriptions

signature, undated / lower right / Vincent

Provenance

Ernest Ponthier de Chamaillard, received from the artist, around October 1888;
Joseph Bernheim-Jeune;
sold to Bernheim-Jeune & Cie, before November 11, 1927;
sold to A. Conger Goodyear, December 30, 1927;
bequeathed to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, January 15, 1966

Class

Paintings

Work Type

Oil painting

This information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

In February 1888, Vincent van Gogh left the cold, dreary winter in Paris and moved to the town of Arles. There, inspired by the variegation and light of southern France, he created more than 200 paintings in 15 months, including The Old Mill. Van Gogh depicted the mill, popularly known as tabatière or Jonquet, using a thick application of paint, exaggerated angles, and vibrant effects. Van Gogh was one of the first artists to free color from a merely descriptive function. Objects did not have to be reproduced on the canvas as they were seen in real life. Instead, he used color to express his feelings about the subject. A lapis-painted mountain range against a sea foam sky represents his joy in the beauty, light, and warmth of the south. Although van Gogh was often criticized for working too quickly, the careful brushwork of this painting reveals otherwise; you can clearly see where he varied the direction of his paint to delineate different parts of the landscape. Van Gogh once wrote that he thought about each painting at length in advance, thus he could work fairly quickly when he finally began to paint. His response to criticism was, “When anyone says that such and such is done too quickly . . . they have looked at it too quickly.”