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During his time in Auvers, Van Gogh painted many fields of wheat under cloudy skies. That is why it has long been assumed that Wheat stack under a cloudy sky was created there. But research that compared the threads and weave of the canvas with other works has revealed that Van Gogh made this painting in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The dating has therefore also been changed from July 1890 to October 1889.
Unusual angle
The wheat stack is located in the walled field of the asylum into which Van Gogh had himself admitted. It appears in several paintings from his time in Saint-Rémy, as he can see it from his bedroom window. But here he chooses an unusual angle, which is why the field was not recognized previously. Van Gogh walked into the field and turned 90 degrees. The wall around the field is just visible on the right, but the characteristic erratic shapes of the Alpilles that appear above the wall in other paintings are not visible here.
Stormy day
It appears that Wheat stack under a cloudy sky was made after a heavy downpour. The crows that fly through the centre of the image are reflected in the large puddle in the foreground. The predominantly diagonal brushstrokes give the scene an inclination to the left and suggest that the wind was coming from the right on this stormy day.