À propos de l’œuvre
Les bêcheurs, par Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh · October 1889 · Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
The Diggers after Millet, F648Reproduction of oil painting on canvas
Two bent peasants turn over an ocher earth under a pale blue sky: Van Gogh translates a drawing by Jean-François Millet into color.
Look at the work
Working the land reinterpreted in Saint-Rémy
Deprived of long outings during his stay in the asylum, Van Gogh worked from black and white reproductions sent by Theo. Here he takes up Millet's The Two Diggers, a motif that he had known since its beginnings, but reconstructs the landscape with his own material and his own color.
The two men form opposite diagonals: one advances with its almost horizontal spade, the other rests on a long vertical handle. The field is covered with brown, pink and purple furrows which seem to extend into the tight movements of the sky.
Van Gogh is not looking for an exact copy; he said he translated Millet "into another language", that of color, line and impasto.
Composition, touch and color
Three observations specific to this painting
The composition retains the monumentality of Millet's workers, but transforms the soil and atmosphere into vibrant surfaces.
Two bodies leaning
The backs, arms and tools follow the same effort towards the earth. Their different gestures, however, avoid any symmetry.
A moving ground
The clods are made of curved and superimposed lines. Ocher, brown, pink and purple give the earth an almost liquid density.
A colorful translation
Van Gogh invents the blue of clothes, the yellows of hair and the light of the sky from colorless reproduction.
Documented benchmarks
Precisely identify the original work
F648/JH1833 is the large version of the Stedelijk Museum made after Millet, not to be confused with the two men tearing up a stump of F701 in Detroit.
Jean-Francois Millet
Van Gogh admired the dignity given by Millet to peasant work and studied his Bêcheurs as early as 1880.
According to a reproduction
Theo sent him engravings and reproductions of Millet; Van Gogh preserved its structure while freely inventing the colored range.
A 411
The work is kept at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam under inventory number A 411.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
The painter must preserve the effort of the two bodies, the diversity of the furrows and the vibration of the sky without smoothing the material.
- The two silhouettes curved at different angles
- The almost horizontal spade of the left peasant
- The long vertical handle held by the other figure
- Ocher, pink and purple furrows
- The little light touches that enliven the sky
Work sheet
| Title | The Diggers after Millet, F648 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890) |
| Date | October 1889 |
| Place of creation | Saint-Rémy-de-Provence |
| Original technique | Oil on paper mounted on canvas |
| Dimensions | Approximately 72 × 93 cm |
| Inventory | Stedelijk Museum A 411 · F648 · JH1833 |
| Conservation | Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
From order to shipping
In your interior
A serious peasant scene with blues and earths
The horizontal format and mineral tones are suitable for an office, library or living room. Browns and blues go well with raw wood, linen and stone.
Frequently asked questions
Before ordering
Is this a canvas print?
No. Each reproduction is manually painted in oil on canvas. Brushstrokes and material variations belong to the final result.
How is the visual reference chosen?
The public domain reference image was reduced to 3000 × 2380 px and then converted to WebP, without artificial enlargement.
Can I check the result before shipping?
Yes. Photographs of the finished painting are sent to you; you can request alterations before validating the shipment.
Are custom formats possible?
Yes. The format can be adapted to your wall while maintaining the proportions and balance of the original composition.
