Green Corn Stalks, 1888 by Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh has used an interesting perspective in this painting, and it was one that he often employed, especially in his last works. He has chosen a low viewpoint that suggests the artist was sitting in the field looking up at the wheat, which throws the green wheat stalks into close focus, while the rest of the landscape shoots off into the distance. The top of the wheat is silhouetted with spiky brushstrokes against the sky and contrasts with both the flatness of the sky and the thick strokes that compose the rest of the landscape.

The wheat and the carpet of poppies were painted with short strokes and daubs of paint, somewhat reminiscent of the works of Signac, with whom Van Gogh was friendly. His use of primarily red, green and yellow was also reflective of Signac's colour theories, which Van Gogh used, though in a less scientific manner. The landscape of dotted colour and short brushstrokes is contrasted with the sky that Van Gogh painted more broadly with a strong diagonal emphasis that suggests light shafting down through the clouds.