The Sower By Vincent Van Gogh Analysis

Vincent Van Gogh created The Sower, a 12 3⁄5˝ × 15 3⁄4 Oil on canvas, in 1888. The subject of The Sower is a man working in a field all day all alone, in the hot overbearing sun, who is far from home. Gogh uses the visual elements and principles of design listed below to describe a lonely soul. The painting illustrates how long and hard a day or life can be and depicts a home that is far away. The colors of the field represent the joy the sower has in his work.

Outline of Visual Elements and Principles of Design:

A. Line – An irregular soft line is used to establish the eye level/horizon in background between the sky and the field. The diagonal lines define the field and are in an opposite direction of the diagonal lines that define the trunk off the tree in the middle of the picture. The diagonal lines in the field, the horizon line, and the edge of the painting create a linear perspective.

B. Shape – The most obvious shape is the round sun in the upper left of the painting. The bottom of the sun is going into the horizon to represent sunset. The house is represented by a triangle front on top of a cube to give the impression of depth. An oval shape represents the figure’s face.

C. Mass – This is a painting, therefore by definition mass is implied. Mass is implied in the lines to represent a cube in the house. Mass is also implied in the figure, the field, and the tree in the foreground.

D. Space – Gogh uses linear and atmospheric perspective to give the illusion of depth. Linear perspective is created by the left border, diagonal lines of the field and the horizon. The vanishing point is the left part of the frame along the horizon line. Atmospheric perspective is created in a number of ways. Gogh uses color in...

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...ard 8 X 12 pieces of paper and put them side by side you get a rough idea how big this painting is. This is only a rough idea, the actual height would be a little longer and the the width a little shorter, but it would give you a good idea.

In conclusion, Van Gogh used the elements above to create a man by himself in a field. He used color to represent feeling rather than represent realism of an event. The cool colors represent the field and happiness in his work. The warm colors represent the harshness of the day and could be a metaphor for life. He used scale and proportion to emphasis the overbearing sun. He also used proportion and scale to represent literally and figuratively how far away home was. The linear perspective was only evident to me after I really studied the used of lines. I followed the lines to the horizon and left side of the painting.