Evening – The End of the Day (after Millet)
Vincent van Gogh – Evening - The End of the Day (after Millet)
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Painter: Vincent van Gogh
Location: Menard Art Museum, Komaki.
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"Evening: End of Day" is one of a hundred and fifty paintings Van Gogh created during the last year of his life. It was influenced by a sketch of the same name by Jean-François Millet. Working with Millet’s black-and-white sketches alone, Van Gogh produced twenty-three paintings in those months. The artist did not consider the transfer of Millet’s drawings on wood or canvas as copying. He called it a translation into the language of colors, impressions, shades of light. Talking about the work on the painting, Van Gogh said that he uses sketches of Millais as a common subject of life.
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Description of Vincent van Gogh’s painting "Evening: End of Day"
"Evening: End of Day" is one of a hundred and fifty paintings Van Gogh created during the last year of his life. It was influenced by a sketch of the same name by Jean-François Millet. Working with Millet’s black-and-white sketches alone, Van Gogh produced twenty-three paintings in those months.
The artist did not consider the transfer of Millet’s drawings on wood or canvas as copying. He called it a translation into the language of colors, impressions, shades of light.
Talking about the work on the painting, Van Gogh said that he uses sketches of Millais as a common subject of life. And then the improvisation over light begins. In part, the light, according to Van Gogh, is "recalled" from the original. Such "recalling" is the author’s interpretation of the painting.
One of the central figures in Van Gogh’s work of the period was the priest. The grim Priest, interrupting the usual cycle of nature. Rather, the painting in question depicts a sower who has finished his work and is going home.
The painting is not an exact copy of Millais’ work. Only the subject is taken. Here a completely different field, on the ground lie other tools. The image of the worker is also different - we see the usual tired man after a long day at work, trying to pull on a shabby jacket and barely got his left hand into the sleeve.
When working with such black and white reproductions, the artist not only develops a unique color scheme. He also highlights shapes. As he does with real models, he looks for "knotty and broad lines."
Van Gogh himself believed that such copying could do more good than his own painting classes. It is known that he only managed to sell one painting in his lifetime. Ironically, a century later, his paintings are going for tens of millions of dollars.
The painting is part of the permanent exhibition of the famous Japanese art gallery Menar.
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Evening: The End of the Day. Artwork by Vincent van Gogh.
Jean-François Millet,
Whose paintings depict
The lives of peasants working
Without rest,
Striving to feed their families,
Working almost all their lives,
Captured the attention of a master.
He will create a copy
Of this simple painting,
Clearly conveying
The essence of the scene,
In his own style,
Working with light,
And changing the size,
He succeeds in doing so.
Here is a different field,
Different tools
Lie in the field. There are
Also similar fragments.
For example, the man:
He is putting on a jacket
In his own way,
His sleeve slightly slipping off.
He is very tired,
Its time to go home,
Captivated by work,
That has been so familiar since childhood.
A neighbor on horseback
Is already appearing somewhere in the distance.
There will be no people here, in the fields,
Until dawn.
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The landscape itself is rendered with vigorous brushstrokes, creating a textured surface that evokes the roughness of the earth and the density of the vegetation. The field stretches out towards a distant horizon where three figures can be discerned, seemingly continuing their work as the light fades. A farm implement – a plow or harrow – rests nearby, reinforcing the theme of agricultural toil.
The sky dominates the upper portion of the painting, exhibiting swirling patterns of yellow and orange that suggest both the setting sun and an underlying emotional turbulence. The color palette is dominated by earthy tones – browns, greens, and yellows – which contribute to a feeling of groundedness and connection to nature. However, the intensity of the colors also introduces a sense of drama and perhaps even melancholy.
Subtly, the painting explores themes of labor, solitude, and the cyclical nature of rural life. The lone figure embodies the quiet dignity of manual work, while the vast expanse of the field underscores his isolation within it. The fading light hints at the passage of time and the inevitability of rest, but also suggests a lingering sense of duty or obligation. There is an underlying tension between the beauty of the natural world and the harsh realities faced by those who depend on it for their livelihood. The overall effect is one of quiet contemplation, inviting reflection on the human condition within the context of nature’s rhythms.