Landscape with Haystacks belongs to Vlaminck’s mature years. The artist’s Fauvism is rather unusual given his penchant for austere colours and a spontaneous, vivid, highly emotional brushwork.
Vlaminck often painted landscapes with haystacks resorting to a similar composition scheme. To the left, the low horizon line is interrupted by two massive stacks, drawn by long touches of the brush. The dark greish-blue sky seems to tumble down onto the earth, foretelling an iminent storm. A free brushwork lends the image an almost expressionist dramatic character. This singles out Vlaminck’s creation in relation to that of other Fauve painters like Derain and Matisse reserving him a special place in the history of painting during the first half of the 20th century.
