Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh drew this meadow using a pen he cut from a reed that grew there. This simple handmade drawing tool allowed him to produce the variety of dots and lines seen on this sheet.

Despite his skillful rendering, the artist admitted in a letter to his brother, Theo, that he found the size of the paper and scope of the composition challenging. He used a perspective frame-a rectangular construction of his own design, crossed by strings-to help plan his study. The framing lines he drew based on this device are still visible along the top margin of the sheet and in a faint rectangle around the composition.

Executed with his distinctive reed pen, View of Arles is one ofthe first drawings in van Gogh’s body of work for which he utilized an overall dot pattern, a technique that intimates the scintillating color combinations and expressive handling ofhis paint. This sheet functioned both as a preparatory study and a finished composition for the art market. After drafting a perspective box in graphite, Van Gogh drew the central composition outdoors on site. This composition later became the basis for an oil study. Back in his studio, van Gogh finished the drawing for sale in Paris by adding irises in the foreground with an ink-laden pen, as well as a title and signature.

Vincent van Gogh's landscape is built primarily, though not exclusively, of vertical marks varying in size, breadth, and tonality. In the foreground, irises are described with a heavy application of ink with a brush. Many marks, though, are made with a reed pen, recognizable by the split in their center. The marks defining the field become smaller and lighter toward the center of the picture, giving the illusion of distance. In the background, the buildings of Arles are carefully detailed in sharp contrast to the sketchier description of the rest of the picture. Most marks are isolated so that they vibrate against the light of the paper surrounding them. Their repetition creates pulsating, rhythmic patterns that suggest color and even sound.