Farm with stacks of peat

Vincent van Gogh is world-famous. Did you know that in 1883, Van Gogh spent three months living in Drenthe? This was a short yet significant period in his life. Here, he developed his passion for painting.

Artist friends recommended that Van Gogh visit Drenthe to be inspired by the primeval landscape and the Drenthe peat labourers. There are vista panels just like this one in various locations throughout the Drenthe landscape. Looking through the panels, you look into the landscape as if through Vincent van Gogh's eyes standing in the places that inspired him.

Farm with stacks of peat

Vincent van Gogh became fascinated with the small cottages and farms in the Drenthe landscape very early on. Vincent came to Drenthe to paint the primeval landscape. He wanted to capture the normal, working inhabitants and their homes. Artist friends had told Vincent that Drenthe was the place to be if you wanted to paint the original landscape. He wanted to experience this for himself.

Vincent van Gogh painted this work in October 1883, probably in or near the Amsterdamscheveld. The work was painted outdoors, as the sand in the paint layers shows. In his letter to his brother Theo from mid-October 1883, Vincent made a sketch - shown above. The stacks to the left and right of the home are probably stocks of straw or thatch for covering roofs. A primeval landscape, and Vincent found it here.

Today, every bit of uncultivated land has been reclaimed. You can still find the landscape Vincent van Gogh searched for in the Bargerveen, a little further on. The ‘Van Gogh cycling route’ takes you past it. Or you could visit the Veenpark in Barger-Compascuum to discover everything about peat cutters and peat extraction.

THESE VISTA PANELS ARE PART OF THE THREE SIGNPOSTED VAN GOGH CYCLING ROUTES.

THE ROUTES CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT