by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on September 29, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
About the painting
Three dark haystacks interrupt a low green field beneath a luminous, unsettled sky. This is Piet Mondrian's Three Haystacks in a Field, painted about 1907 and catalogued as A507. The image on this page matches the work documented by RKD and by Christie's in a 2016 sale of the collection of Dr J. F. S. Esser. Far from a generic “haystack” picture, it has a traceable object record, measurements and a documented exhibition history.[1][2]
At a glance
- ArtistPiet Mondrian (1872–1944)
- TitleThree Haystacks in a Field
- Datec. 1907
- Catalogue numberRKD A507
- MediumOil on canvas
- Dimensions36 × 47 cm, according to Christie's
- Recorded collectionDr J. F. S. Esser, Amsterdam, then by descent to the 2016 seller
- RKD collection descriptionPrivate collection; a current owner is not independently established here[1][2]
Haystack landscapes around 1907
Three haystacks (A507)
c. 1907Contents
- What does the landscape show?
- How was the work identified?
- Why did Mondrian return to haystacks?
- How does it differ from the two-haystack works?
What does the landscape show?
A broad band of green foreground gives way to three haystacks across the middle distance. Their heavy, angular shapes are darker than the sky. The left stack is lower and partly set back; the larger forms to the right rise sharply from the field. The skyline between them lets a yellowish light through. Above, patches of grey, cream and pale gold suggest clouds and a low sun rather than a clear blue day.
 The Red Tree Piet Mondrian.jpg)
The composition is horizontally stretched. At 47 cm wide and 36 cm high, it gives more room to the spread of field and sky than to the height of any one stack. The trio does not form a neat row of equal units. Differences in height, width and spacing keep the eye moving between them, then across the open strip of light. The dark stacks act as silhouettes, making the brightness of the sky feel stronger.[2]
Look at the low line where dark forms meet the green. It is not a crisp diagrammatic border; loose edges and colour changes suggest uneven ground. The sky is more freely varied, with small warm strokes breaking through cooler grey. The picture therefore depends on both a firm arrangement of large shapes and a changing atmosphere.
How was the work identified?
RKD lists Three haystacks in a field as A507, c. 1907, in a private collection. Christie's 2016 original lot record names the same title, medium, 36 × 47 cm dimensions and approximate date. It also explicitly cites Welsh's catalogue raisonné as A507. These independent identifiers tie the visible picture to one documented canvas.[1][2]
The Christie’s lot was described as coming from the collection of Dr J. F. S. Esser, Amsterdam, with ownership passing by descent to the seller. The auction house also recorded that the painting appeared in the 1994–96 Mondriaan aan de Amstel / Il primo Mondrian exhibition, shown in Amsterdam and Rome. That gives the work a public documentary history despite its private-collection status. It does not establish a present owner or guarantee that the painting can be visited today.[2]
A catalogue reference is especially useful because Mondrian painted multiple haystack and field subjects around the same years. RKD places A507 next to two separate Haystack in the Evening entries, A505 and A506. Its Twente section also has Two Haystacks in a Field I and II. A title with a haystack count may seem sufficient, but the catalogue number and image still prevent accidental transfer of another canvas's dimensions, collection or interpretation.[1][3]
Watch: Piet Mondrian
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Piet Mondrian: Abstract Painting as We Know It
Curator Michael White explores the paintings and Mondrian’s studio as an abstract space.
Watch on YouTubeWhy did Mondrian return to haystacks?
The rural subject let Mondrian arrange broad dark masses against sky and fields, and test the effects of changing light. In this painting the forms are almost blocklike, yet the sky is full of small tonal shifts. The contrast suggests a clear compositional problem: how to hold a group of heavy objects in a wide, bright landscape without making the scene static.
The RKD catalogue's neighbouring entries show how often he explored related agricultural subjects around 1907. Another museum source, the Mondriaanhuis exhibition text, identifies a separate Two Haystacks in a Field II of 1907. These records support a local group of experiments rather than a claim that the A507 painting was the unique or final answer to the motif.[1][3]
It is tempting to jump from these rectangular haystack silhouettes to Mondrian's later abstract grids. The more direct way to see this work is as a landscape in which atmosphere and placement matter. The light gap between the stacks, the uncertain sky and the dark horizon are specific to this rural scene. His later abstractions made different choices and followed a long intervening development.
How does it differ from the two-haystack works?
A number in a title can signal a distinct arrangement, but titles are also assigned or translated in catalogues. Here the original record for A507 gives three haystacks and a 36 × 47 cm oil canvas. RKD's A559 and A560 are separate Two Haystacks in a Field works. They appear in a different section and have their own image and ownership records. The Mondriaanhuis text discusses Two Haystacks in a Field II, not this three-stack painting.[1][3]
The distinction matters to anyone following a reproduction back to an original. One should not use facts about a two-stack painting to fill gaps in the private A507 record. We know A507's date, medium and dimensions from RKD and Christie's, plus Esser provenance and the 1990s exhibition. We do not need to invent an accession number or a present display location.
Villa Mondriaan's Dutch-language 2016 annual report provides a later chapter in this painting's history. It names Drie hooischelven in een veld (Three Haystacks in a Field, 1907) as one of two Mondrian works purchased by a private sponsor and placed on long-term loan with the museum in Winterswijk that year. The report says the works joined its permanent display. This documents a public loan in 2016, although it does not prove the painting remains on view today.[4]
Mondrian artworks directory
Frequently asked questions
When was Three Haystacks in a Field painted?
What is its catalogue number?
Where is the original now?
Is it the same as Two Haystacks in a Field II ?
Discussion
How are the three stacks spaced across the field?
Reader Insights
Where does light appear between them?
How does the clouded sky change the dark forms?
How does the clouded sky change the dark forms?
Join the Conversation
Share what you notice in this painting below.
References
- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History, Mondrian catalogue, Amsterdam landscapes A498–A530, listing A507 and its neighbouring haystack entries. View source.
- Christie's, original 2016 lot record for Three Haystacks in a Field: medium, measurements, Esser provenance, exhibition and A507 literature reference. View source.
- Mondriaanhuis, permanent exhibition texts recording the separate 1907 Two Haystacks in a Field II and related rural works. View source.
- Villa Mondriaan, Dutch-language 2016 annual report, collection section, recording the private sponsor's purchase and long-term loan of Drie hooischelven in een veld. View source.
- Lead image credit. Piet Mondrian, Three Haystacks in a Field, c. 1907, oil on canvas, 36 × 47 cm, private collection, RKD A507; dimensions and Esser provenance documented by Christie’s.
