Vincent van Gogh became familiar with Impressionism in Paris. When he arrived in Arles in 1888 this encounter lay in the past and he was looking for new mediums of expression. In the summer of this year van Gogh painted a series of studies in the fields surrounding the town of Arles. The picture of a summer evening was to be very important, so he chose a large format.

Van Gogh waited for the full moon. It was a windy day and the mistral was blowing strongly. Van Gogh had to complete the picture in a single sitting before the approaching storm arrived. He did not stipulate whether the yellow heavenly body is the sun or the moon– it is a summer evening he explained to his fellow painter Emile Bernard.

The silhouette of Arles is on the horizon, the peaceful town skirted by factory chimneys belching smoke. Not a country idyll. A train is going past, and a solitary couple are walking between the town and the fields. A radiant blue sky lit up by the massive yellow orb arches above the scenery.

The ears of corn in the cornfield in the foreground are being blown to the left by the strong wind and the colour yellow occupies two thirds of the picture. It is graduated from light yellow into gold and copper tones and contrasts with the blue of the sky.

Van Gogh employed a pastose application of colour. He reworked the yellow of the cornfield with vigorous brushstrokes to set the area in motion and render the undulation of the corn immediately apparent.