The Field of Golden Wheat and Buckwheat

Around 1900, buckwheat was still a staple crop in Brittany. Bretons called it black wheat and ground it for their galettes, and it grew beside the ordinary grain across the Breton countryside Sérusier painted. In this tall, narrow canvas he stacks the two crops one above the other. Along the bottom, stems rise from reddish earth among small clusters of flowers, their pointed leaves turning red and orange, as they do in autumn. Above spreads a golden band of wheat flecked with pink and red. At the top, two bare trunks stand against a strip of blue under dark green. The unusual shape suggests a decorative panel meant for a room. In May 2013 the picture came up at an auction in Brest, and when the hammer fell at 229,000 euros, the Musée d'Orsay used the French state's right of pre-emption to take the winning bidder's place.