La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill), 1888

This artwork features a rustic, weathered mill standing prominently on a hillside in the foreground, characterized by thick, textured brushstrokes typical of an oil painting. The mill building has a dominant reddish-brown tone with a sloped, multi-colored roof that blends blues and yellows. To the lower left, two small figures dressed in dark clothing walk along a path, providing a sense of scale against the rugged terrain. The composition leads the eye from the foreground hillside toward the building and out into the expansive valley beyond.

In the background, a sprawling landscape of the La Crau region unfolds. A patchwork of green fields, smaller structures, and distant, low-lying blue mountains under a pale, airy sky fills the horizon. The entire scene is captured with dynamic, swirling brushwork that creates a sense of movement and energy, characteristic of a post-impressionist landscape.

The colour palette is a vibrant mix of earthy yellows, burnt oranges, and deep browns, contrasted sharply by the cooling blues of the sky, the river at the bottom, and the distant hills. Green accents represent the foliage and meadows, while the thick application of paint gives the scene a tactile, three-dimensional quality. The lighting suggests a bright, breezy day, with the texture of the paint strokes catching the light to suggest depth and atmosphere.

This expressive oil painting depicts a rustic farmhouse set against a sweeping, hilly landscape under a bright, textured sky. The farmhouse, rendered in warm ochres and earthy tones, features a distinctive, steeply sloped blue roof that catches the light. The structure appears slightly worn, with stone walls and a small staircase leading to its entrance, suggesting a rural, weathered charm. In the foreground, a small couple in dark attire stands together on a path, providing a sense of scale to the surrounding architecture and vegetation.

The background reveals an expansive, rolling countryside filled with distant hills painted in shades of muted blue. Fields and sparse trees are scattered across the valley, while a few smaller, isolated cottages dot the middle distance, emphasizing the isolation of the rural setting. In the very foreground, a stream or patch of water reflects the cool tones of the sky, creating a visual balance to the warm, sun-baked earth beneath the house.

The artwork is defined by its bold, impasto brushwork, where visible, thick layers of paint create a rhythmic, vibrating texture across the entire canvas. The colour palette is vibrant, contrasting cool turquoise and blue tones in the sky and water with the warm, golden hues of the landscape and the building. This energetic application of paint imbues the scene with a sense of movement and raw emotional intensity, capturing the fleeting quality of light on a breezy, sunlit day.