Vincent Van Gogh created The Sower, an oil on canvas measuring 12 3⁄5˝ × 15 3⁄4, in 1888. The subject of The Sower is a man working in a field all day, all alone, under the hot, dominating sun, which is far from home. Gogh uses the visual elements and design principles listed below to depict a lonely soul. The painting illustrates how long and difficult a day or life can be and depicts a distant home. The colors of the field represent the joy that the sower has in his work. Overview of Visual Elements and Design Principles: A. Line – A smooth irregular line is used to establish eye level/background horizon between the sky and field. The diagonal lines define the field and are in an opposite direction to the diagonal lines that define the trunk of the tree in the middle of the image. The diagonal lines of the field, the horizon line, and the edge of the painting create a linear perspective.B. Shape – The most obvious shape is the round sun at the top left of the painting. The bottom of the sun moves toward the horizon to represent sunset. The house is represented by a triangular facade atop a cube to give the impression of depth. An oval shape represents the character's face.C. Mass – This is a painting, so by definition mass is implied. Mass is implied in the lines to represent a cube in the house. Mass is also involved in the figure, field, and tree in the foreground.D. Space – Gogh uses linear, atmospheric perspective to give the illusion of depth. Linear perspective is created by the left border, the diagonal lines of the field and the horizon. The vanishing point is the left part of the frame along the horizon line. Atmospheric perspective is created in several ways. Gogh uses the color in the middle of the paper......8 This is just a rough idea, the actual height would be a little longer and the width a little shorter, but it would give you a good idea. In conclusion, Van Gogh used the above elements to create a lone man in a field. . He used color to represent feelings rather than to represent the realism of an event. The cold colors represent the terrain and happiness in his work. The warm colors represent the harshness of the day and could be a metaphor for life. He used scale and proportion to emphasize the dominant sun. He also used proportion and scale to represent, both literally and figuratively, the distance from his home. Linear perspective only became apparent to me after I really studied the use of lines. I followed the lines to the horizon and the left side of the painting.