In May 1890, Van Gogh moved from southeastern France to the commune of Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris to be closer to psychiatrist Paul Gachet and his brother and financial supporter Theo.

Other paintings completed in the final months of his life include Portrait of Dr. Gachet, The Church at Auvers, Wheatfield with Crows, and Tree Roots.

"[7] Describing the landscape in Auvers-sur-Oise, Van Gogh wrote in a letter from July 1890 that he attempted to "express sadness, extreme loneliness" when painting "immense stretches of wheatfields under turbulent skies."

Van Gogh continued describing the country's beneficial effects, writing, "These canvases will tell you what I can't say in words, what I consider healthy and fortifying about the countryside.

[10] Like many of his poppy paintings, the work juxtaposes brilliant red poppy blooms against alfalfa green, developing what Van Gogh called a “motif in red and green.” Regarding this color motif and others, Van Gogh wrote, “These are fundamentals, which one may subdivide further, and elaborate, but quite enough to show you without the help of a picture that there are colors which cause each other to shine brilliantly, which form a couple, which complete each other like man and woman.”[11] In 1911, German museum director Gustav Pauli, a proponent of modern art, purchased the painting from the art dealer Cassirer to be added to the collection at the Kunsthalle Bremen.