Landscape with wheat sheaves and rising moon

Nocturnal light effect The moon is just rising over the Alpilles, illuminating the wheat sheaves in the foreground. Van Gogh spends a long time working on the canvas. In the final phase, he paints a maze of small, light purple brushstrokes over the scene to enhance the nocturnal light effect. Over time, these have gradually discoloured to much whiter stripes, making the scene less ‘nocturnal’ than he had intended. Too far-fetched Van Gogh paints this landscape largely in his studio.