Detail of The Flowering Orchard by Van Gogh in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2010

The Flowering Orchard

Vincent van Gogh
(Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise)

Date: 1888

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 28 1/2 x 21 in. (72.4 x 53.3 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: The Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ittleson Jr. Purchase Fund, 1956

Accession Number: 56.13

Gallery Label:

The arrival of spring in Arles in 1888 found Van Gogh "in a fury of work." As he wrote to his brother Theo, "the trees are in blossom and I would like to do a Provençal orchard of tremendous gaiety." Between late March and late April, the artist dedicated fourteen canvases to the subject, working in a range of sizes, formats, and styles. This composition, dominated by the angular, elongated branches of the budding trees, attests to Van Gogh’s admiration for Japanese prints. His inclusion of the scythe and rake makes this one of only two orchard paintings to hint at a human presence.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436527