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An 1888 oil on canvas painting, Sower with Setting Sun, by Vincent van Gogh (1853-90), the Dutch post-impressionist artist. Painted in June near Arles in southern France. Van Gogh was fascinated by the light and colours of the region, and this is the first painting where he captures these. Describing the painting and an accompanying sketch in a letter to his fellow artist Émile Bernard, Vincent says:
I couldn't care less what the colours are in reality...I am still enchanted by snatches of the past, have a hankering after the eternal, of which the sower and the sheaf of corn are the symbols. (LB B7 F)
(Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands)