The Haystack Series: Who Painted Haystacks?

Who painted haystacks?

The Haystacks

The Haystacks, Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin

Claude Monet is the artist most famously associated with the "Haystacks" series, using the subject to explore light. However, Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin also painted a notable work titled "The Haystacks" in 1889, which focuses more on the symbolic and emotional aspects of rural labor and life.

When we think of these golden mounds, we are usually thinking of Monet. He was obsessed with how a single subject could change under different skies. You might find his 1885 "Haystacks," currently held at the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki, or his famous "Meules à Giverny" from 1893. These works are so significant that one of his "Meules" paintings once sold for an incredible $110.7 million at auction.

Gauguin, on the other hand, offers us something a bit more intense. His "The Haystacks," held at the Courtauld Gallery in London, was painted in 1889. While Monet looked at the light hitting the surface, Gauguin used bold colors to capture the very soul of the countryside. If you look closely at his work, you can see the influence of both Van Gogh’s energy and the structural depth of Cézanne.

What are the different versions of the haystacks paintings?

Ohara Museum of Art

Discover the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki, home to an iconic collection of Western masterpieces by Monet and Picasso alongside exquisite Japanese crafts, offering a breathtaking journey through global artistic history.

If you look closely at the history of these works, you'll see there are many versions, most notably Claude Monet’s extensive series of twenty-five canvases created between 1890 and 1891. These works depict the fields near his home in Giverny, France, showing how light and weather transform the landscape throughout the seasons.

Monet’s approach was revolutionary because he used repetition to show the passage of time. It is as if he were trying to paint the very atmosphere. You can see this in several distinct pieces:

• Haystacks (1885): A vibrant landscape held at the Ohara Museum of Art.
• Meules (1890): A massive, celebrated work that set auction records, once selling for $110.7 million.
• Meules à Giverny (1893): A later piece that continues his study of light and color.
• Haystacks (1895): An autumnal scene held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, showcasing warm colors and light.

It is fascinating to realize that while some of these are tucked away in museums like the Musée d’Orsay, others have moved through private collections, such as the one once owned by the Chicago socialites Potter and Bertha Palmer. Each version is a different "moment" caught in oil on canvas.

What art movement is represented in these works?

These works represent two major movements: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Claude Monet’s haystacks are quintessential Impressionism, focusing on the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Eugène Gauguin’s haystacks belong to Post-Impressionism, using bold colors and symbolism to express deeper emotional truths about rural life.

If you look at Monet, you are seeing the heart of Impressionism. He moved away from traditional, dark academic styles to paint en plein air—which simply means painting outdoors in the open air. He wanted to capture the "impression" of a sunset or a cloudy sky before the light changed. His brushwork is textured and dynamic, designed to make you feel the warmth of the sun or the chill of the morning dew.

Gauguin takes us a step further into Post-Impressionism. Instead of just recording what the eye sees, he uses color as an emotional language. His 1889 work is less about the scientific study of light and more about the rhythm of labor and the spirit of the landscape. It is a beautiful, heavy application of pigment that turns a simple pile of hay into something almost spiritual.