Wheatfield with Crows

Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh painted this Wheatfield with Crows in July 1890, one of his final works before his death later that month. A turbulent sky of deep blue and black looms over golden wheat, while crows fly across the scene. Three paths diverge through the field, leading nowhere visible.

The painting's ominous atmosphere has led many to interpret it as Van Gogh's suicide note, though art historians debate this reading. He actually painted several other works after this one. The violent brushwork and threatening sky do reflect his mental state during his final weeks, but the golden wheat also suggests summer abundance.

Van Gogh wrote to Theo about paintings of wheat fields under troubled skies expressing "sadness and extreme loneliness." Whether or not he intended it as a farewell, the image has become inseparable from the tragedy of his death. It hangs at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.