“This intense landscape, painted in the final month of Vincent van Gogh's life, captures a wheat field under a thunderous sky with raw, emotional brushwork. It's a powerful vision of nature's drama and the artist's inner world.”
A turbulent sky dominates this canvas, with swirling, heavy clouds that seem to press down on the vast wheat field below. The field itself is a sea of agitated brushstrokes, painted in vibrant yellows and greens, suggesting movement and the imminent arrival of a storm. Created in July 1890, the final month of the artist's life, this landscape captures a profound sense of drama and emotional intensity. The bold colors and expressive brushwork, characteristic of Post-Impressionism, convey not just a scene but a feeling, reflecting the artist's inner turmoil. It's one of a series of wheat field paintings from this period, yet here the atmosphere is particularly charged, a powerful vision of nature's raw force.
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Date
- 1890
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Van Gogh Museum
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

Look at the dramatic, almost violent brushstrokes in the sky.
Notice how the wheat field seems to ripple and move under the wind.
Observe the specific shades of yellow and green in the wheat.
See the dark, heavy clouds gathering overhead.
Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through Wheatfield under Thunderclouds — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Vincent van Gogh
1853–1890 · Kingdom of the NetherlandsVincent van Gogh, whose vibrant brushwork and bold colors transformed landscapes and portraits, created 2,100 artworks in just over a decade.
Further Works by van Gogh
Vase with Gladioli and China Asters
1886 · Van Gogh Museum
Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin
1887 · Van Gogh Museum
Bridge in the rain, after Hiroshige
1887 · Van Gogh Museum
Flowering plum tree, after Hiroshige
1887 · Van Gogh Museum
Self-Portrait with Straw Hat and Pipe
1887 · Van Gogh Museum
Farmhouse in a wheat field
1888 · Van Gogh Museum
Ploughed fields
1888 · Van Gogh Museum
Small pear tree in blossom
1888 · Van Gogh Museum
More from Expressionism
More works to explore
Beyond van Gogh and Expressionism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Wheatfield under Thunderclouds belongs to.
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Albert (René) Grenier (1858–1925)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1887 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
Okada Saburosuke · 1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Carmelina
Henri Matisse · 1903 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Léon Clapisson
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
The Old Guitarist
Pablo Picasso · 1903 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Still Life with Crayfish
Mikhail Larionov · 1900 · Museum Ludwig
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
The Seine at Pont de Grenelle
Paul Gauguin · 1875 · Wallraf–Richartz Museum
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Kawabata Gyokushō · 1877 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Gustave Boyer (b. 1840) in a Straw Hat
Paul Cézanne · 1870 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Mr. Loulou (Louis Le Ray)
Paul Gauguin · 1890 · Barnes Foundation
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray
Piet Mondrian · 1921 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Rocks at Fontainebleau
Paul Cézanne · 1890 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn)
Claude Monet · 1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Street in Moret
Alfred Sisley · 1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
The Streetwalker
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1890 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Two Girls Reading in a Garden
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1890
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Young Girl with Hat
Berthe Morisot · 1891 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Haymaking at Éragny
Camille Pissarro · 1892 · Art Institute of Chicago




