Vincent Van Gogh - The Little Stream (31.5 in x 23.5 in)

• Title: Les Vessenots in Auvers (Les Vessenots à Auvers)
• Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
• Date: May 1890 (painted in Auvers-sur-Oise, France)
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Original Dimensions: 55 × 65 cm (21.6 × 25.5 in)
• Current Location: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain (Accession no. 559 / 1978.41)
• Catalogue Raisonné Numbers: F 797 (Jacob Baart de la Faille) / JH 2003 (Jan Hulsker)

Historical Context & Provenance

Van Gogh arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise, a rural village just northwest of Paris, on May 20, 1890, after leaving the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. He settled there to be near his brother Theo and under the care of Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic physician, amateur painter, and supporter of Impressionist artists.

In the roughly 70 days he spent in Auvers before his death on July 29, 1890, Van Gogh experienced an extraordinary burst of creative energy, completing more than 70 paintings. Les Vessenots—a quiet hamlet on the outskirts of Auvers—caught his attention for its cluster of rustic, thatched-roof and red-tiled cottages nestled against undulating wheat fields.

Notable Provenance:

• Dr. Paul Gachet (1890): The painting was originally acquired directly from Van Gogh by Dr. Gachet (and subsequently inherited by his son, Paul Gachet Jr.).
• Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1978): After passing through several prominent 20th-century galleries and private collections in Europe and the United States, it was acquired for the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in 1978 and is now on permanent display in Madrid.

Composition & Style

• High Horizon & Spatial Compression: Typical of Van Gogh's late Auvers landscapes, the horizon line is pushed near the top of the canvas. The cluster of cottages and trees sits just beneath rolling hills and a narrow strip of bright blue sky, creating an expansive, upward-tilting foreground.
• Rhythmic Brushwork: The vast foreground field is animated by dynamic, directional impasto brushstrokes that shift angle and texture to mimic the movement of wind over grass and ripening crops.
• Color Palette: Rather than the blazing, sun-drenched yellows of his earlier Arles period, this work displays the cooler, fresher palette of northern France—dominated by vibrant greens, chartreuse, soft yellows, and cobalt blues, punctuated by the single red roof and dark outlines of the village structures.

(Note: If you are cataloging a print or vintage poster of this work—such as the 31.5" × 23.5" dimensions in your image filename—that size corresponds to a standard European B2 / 80 × 60 cm fine art exhibition reproduction or lithograph poster format rather than the original 55 × 65 cm canvas).