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2022 Red Vineyards at Arles (1888) Tokelau G$1 Vincent Masterpieces (COA Name: Red Vineyard)
The obverse of the coin features the beautiful painting known as the Red Vineyards, by Van Gogh. The painting depicts a rural landscape with vibrant red vineyards in the foreground. The vigorous rhythm and intense hues of the painting reflect Van Gogh's emotional engagement with the subject matter.
The reverse of the coin shows the Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, along with the inscriptions: "ELIZABETH II" - the name of the Queen, "TOKELAU 2022" – the country and the year of issue and "ONE DOLLAR" – the face value, "1/500 Oz" and "999/1000 FINE GOLD" – the weight and the fineness of the Gold.
VincentVanGogh.org
The Red Vineyard at Arles, which Vincent van Gogh was unusually pleased with, is the only work he sold during his lifetime, and was bought for 400 francs by Anna Boch (1848-1936)
In October, 1888 Gauguin arrived in Arles and moved in with Van Gogh, who was beside himself with excitement and dream of starting if not an artists' colony, at the very least a shared studio. Van Gogh had met Gauguin two years previously and was in awe of the slightly older artist, whose own opinion of himself was greatly inflated. The stay ended in disaster culminating in Van Gogh's self-mutilation, but prior to this the two artists had worked on similar projects, and Gauguin's influence can be seen on Van Gogh's paintings of this time. Van Gogh was particularly enraptured with a local vineyard, whose colours were turning to autumnal reds and yellows as the days shortened into autumn. He painted The Red Vineyard, capturing the mellowed tones and glistening light of the early evening sun reflecting in the river, while Gauguin painted Vineyard at Arles with Breton Women, clothing the women in the traditional Breton costume of his home.
On October 2, 1888 Vincent van Gogh sends a letter to Eugene Boch mentioning his project to paint The Red Vineyard, in which he mentioned:
“Ah well, I have to go to work in the vineyard, near Mont Majour. It's all purplish yellow green under the blue sky, a beautiful, colour motif."
While painting, Van Gogh was not standing in front of the vineyard, he painted it at the Yellow House completely out of memory and imagination the day after he walked through the nearby Wine plantation.
Tokelau
Tokelau is a remote group of atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, of which it's a territory. It's usually accessed by boat from Samoa, a trip that can take around 24 hours. Nukunonu atoll contains accommodation and a clear lagoon rich in marine life. Fakaofo has swimming pigs that famously catch fish near its coral reef. ― Google
Capitals: Fakaofo, Atafu, Nukunonu
Official languages: English, Tokelauan, Samoan
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Population: 1,411 (Oct 2011)
Area: 3.861 mi²
Currency: New Zealand Dollar
Assigned to New Zealand: 11 February 1926
Photos taken with Nikon D3300 DSL Camera with attached AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm F3.5-5.6G lens. Adobe Photoshop Elements used to fix any digital artifacts.