The Harvest, 1888 By Vincent van Gogh While in Arles, Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) painted a number of series on various subjects. He had already carried out a sequence of blossoming orchards in the spring of 1888, and in June of that year he turned his attention to the harvest and wheat fields. In little more than a week he executed as many as ten paintings and five drawings on the theme. He worked daily in the fields under the burning sun, until a huge storm put an unexpected end to the harvest on June 20th.