In the context of Wheat Fields, explain the Nuenen and Paris of the Periods.
Prior to Van Gogh's exploration of southern France, there were just a few of his paintings where wheat was the subject.
The first, Sheaves of Wheat in a Field was painted July–August 1885 in Nuenen, Netherlands. Here the emphasis is on the land and labor is suggested by the "bulging wheat stacks." This work was made several months after The Potato Eaters at a time when he was looking to free himself physically, emotionally and artistically from the gray colors of his art and life, moving away from Nuenen to develop, as author Albert Lubin describes, a more "imaginative, colorful art that suited him much better."Van Gogh, who "particularly admired a poem written by Walt Whitman about the beauty in a blade of grass", began painting waving stalks of wheat in Paris. In 1887, he made Wheat Field with a Lark where Impressionist influences are reflected in his use of color and management of light and shadow. Brush strokes are made to reflect the objects, like the stalks of wheat. The work reflects the motion of the wheat blowing in the wind, the lark flying and the clouds streaking from the currents in the sky.  The cycles of life are reflected in the land left by harvested wheat and the growing wheat subject to the forces of the wind, as we are subject to the pressures in our lives.  The cycle of life depicted here is both tragic and comforting.  The stubble of the harvested wheat reflect the inevitable cycle of death, while the stalks of wheat, flying bird and windswept clouds reflect continual change.  Edge of a Wheat Field with Poppies, shown below, was also painted in 1887.
France Impressionist Walt Whitman The Potato Eaters Wheat Field with a Lark Nuenen Wheat Paris Netherlands