Landscape with Couple Walking and Crescent Moon 1890

Vincent van Gogh, sometime in the late 1880s, painted this image of a couple strolling beneath a crescent moon. It's a landscape that speaks to the social conditions of its time. The figures, rendered with a rough, almost caricatured style, appear to be working class. We see them taking a stroll, perhaps after a day's labor, suggesting a newfound leisure among the working classes in France at the time. Consider the context: the late 19th century was a period of rapid industrialization, which led to new social structures and new forms of recreation for workers. Van Gogh, with his interest in the lives of ordinary people, seems to be commenting on these shifts. What's interesting is how Van Gogh's art challenges the academic painting style which dominated art institutions at this time. It’s clear Van Gogh sought to connect with people outside of that traditional framework, to speak to and of the common man. To understand Van Gogh's work better, we delve into social histories, looking at everything from the labor movements to changing attitudes towards leisure. The meaning of his art is always contingent on this social and institutional context.