Sunset at Montmajour is a landscape in oils painted by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh on 4 July 1888.
It was painted while the artist was at Arles, France and depicts a landscape of garrigue with the ruins of Montmajour Abbey in the background.
The painting is 73.3 cm × 93.3 cm (28.9 in × 36.7 in).
For over 100 years, it was in a Norwegian industrialist's private collection and wrongly assumed to be fake, before being re-examined, authenticated and sold to its current private owner.
The painting was temporarily on display from 24 September 2013 until 12 January 2014 as part of an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Its authenticity was questioned several times before it was confirmed as a genuine van Gogh work in 2013.
It is the first full-sized painting by Van Gogh to be newly confirmed since 1928
Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo on 5 July 1888:
"Yesterday, at sunset, I was on a stony heath where very small, twisted oaks grow, in the background a ruin on the hill, and wheatfields in the valley.
It was romantic, it couldn’t be more so, à la Monticelli, the sun was pouring its very yellow rays over the bushes and the ground, absolutely a shower of gold.
And all the lines were beautiful, the whole scene had a charming nobility.
You wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see knights and ladies suddenly appear, returning from hunting with hawks, or to hear the voice of an old Provençal troubadour.
The fields seemed purple, the distances blue.
And I brought back a study of it too, but it was well below what I’d wished to do".
Tramonto a Montmajour è un dipinto ad olio su tela realizzato nel 1888 dal pittore olandese Vincent van Gogh.
È conservato nel Museo Van Gogh di Amsterdam.
Il quadro ritrae l'abbazia benedettina situata a Montmajour, nel momento del tramonto.
L'attribuzione di tale dipinto al noto artista olandese è stata divulgata il 9 settembre 2013, dal direttore del museo Axel Rüger, dopo due anni di studi.
Il quadro, secondo gli esperti, è stato realizzato nel 1888 durante il soggiorno dell'artista olandese ad Arles, nel Sud della Francia e, prima di essere venduto nel 1901, faceva parte della collezione di Theo Van Gogh, fratello del pittore.
Vincent van Gogh a suo fratello Theo il 5 luglio 1888:
"Ieri, al tramonto, ero su una brughiera sassosa, dove crescono querce molto piccole e contorte, sullo sfondo una rovina sulla collina, e campi di grano nella valle.
Era romantico, non poteva esserlo di più, à la Monticelli, il sole riversava i suoi raggi giallissimi sui cespugli e sul terreno, assolutamente una pioggia d’oro.
E tutte le linee erano belle; tutta la scena aveva una nobiltà affascinante".