"Wheatfield with Crows," by Vincent Van Gogh, is an oil on canvas, that was painted in 1890. It is a horizontal rectangle with the sides approximately in the ratio 1:2 and is a landscape. The wheatfield takes up about 60% of the painting, including the pathways, as opposed to the stormy night sky, which takes up about 40 % of the canvas. The rest are the green pathways. About 5% of the canvas is taken up by the flying crows, which are quite dominant in this piece of work. The wheatfield appears to be divided into two by a pathway and there is approximately the same amount of wheat on either side of the path. The crows, although centralized, move from the left-middle to the top right corner of the canvas, increasing in number to the right.
             "Wheatfield with Crows" basically consists of paths, a wheat field, a stormy sky, and dominating the canvas are the crows. The paths are comprised of three sets: one in the middle, winding towards the horizon, and two in each foreground corner on either side. The paths could have a symbolic interpretation, but it is hard to interpret what direction the paths follow. The path on the left foreground appears to be coming towards the viewer while no sense can be made of the path on the right corner. The path in the middle appears to be drawn towards the horizon. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the wheat fields also seem to be moving from left to right, the brush strokes directing the wheat towards the top right corner. This also suggests the direction of the storm, which is a trademark of Van Gogh's work.
             The most powerful image in "Wheatfield with Crows" is the crows themselves. The flock stimulates a lot of symbolic interpretation. People argue that the flock is in fact moving towards the viewer and hence the work becomes more foreboding. But to me the flock appears to be moving away from the viewer, in the direction of the path, as if following the path, flying towards the hori...