Working the land

Paul Gauguin completed this landscape in 1873 while still working as a stockbroker in Paris. Brilliant blue skies contrast with bright greens and yellows across the fields. A figure works the land in the distance. This is considered his first major surviving canvas, created before he decided to become a full-time artist.

The tonality and composition recall Corot, while the deep perspective following field lines shows Pissarro's influence. Gauguin's godfather had commissioned Pissarro to paint seasonal landscapes the previous year, which clearly inspired this work. The elongated canvas format was unusual for the time. Now housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.