Four of Van Gogh’s most beautiful landscape paintings of Provence (southeastern France) were painted in early April 1889, when spring flowers were blooming. For an artist who loves nature, it is common to be inspired by beautiful scenery, but not everyone can create masterpieces right at the time of physical and mental damage like Van Gogh.
Just before Christmas 1888, while living in Arles, a famous ancient city in southern France, Van Gogh’s spirit fell into serious crisis. In a state of distraught, he cut off part of his ear.
To this day, the true extent of the injury remains controversial. Just knowing that he had to spend the next few weeks in the hospital, sleeping in cramped rooms, made the artist’s mind even more panicked.
However, despite these circumstances, Van Gogh continued to paint. It was art that fueled his will, helping him overcome challenges and recover. “In a short time you can work again in the orchard. If only there hadn’t been what happened, making everything messy,” he wrote in a letter to his younger brother Theo van Gogh in March 1889.
Also in this letter, the artist told his younger brother to send 11 tubes of paint. That proves that Van Gogh was determined to return to the easel after the accident.
In early April, Van Gogh completed two beautiful landscape paintings: Orchard in Blossom, View of Arles and Peach Trees in Blossom. What is worth noting is that they have very different styles.
Orchard in Blossom, View of Arles painted on the eastern outskirts of town in early April 1889, a few minutes’ walk from the hospital. The bottom half of the picture is mainly a green meadow, dotted with spring flowers. Beyond the flowering trees and some towering cypresses that line the skyline, the church tower of St Trophime stands out on the right.
Peach Trees in Blossom was also born around this time, although with a very different atmosphere. It is a much more “gentle” painting, mostly in pastel tones, composed mainly of short, parallel brushstrokes, presenting a bird’s-eye view of the countryside.
The painting was executed by Van Gogh just northeast of Arles, on the plains below Les Alpilles.
In Van Gogh’s third painting, View of Arles has a clear layout, divided by 3 poplar trees, a view towards the town and a canal in front. This time St Trophime is on the left. The middle floor depicts an orchard with rows of blooming trees, gentle colors creating a harmonious effect. A farmer appears on the right. The red roofs near the horizon (on the left) add small pops of contrasting color.
‘View of Arles’ divided by three poplar trees, the view towards the town and a canal in front. Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Neue Pinakothek, Munich.
Van Gogh’s last spring scene painted in April 1889 was Orchard in Blossom, a picture with a simpler structure. However, he was not completely satisfied with this work and revised it in July. “He began to rework it from memory and found a better way to express the harmony of colors,” he wrote. letter to my younger brother about this.
In April 1889, Van Gogh produced four outstanding landscape works in succession, but the rich spring beauty of these paintings belies the challenging circumstances in which they were created.
By the end of April, Van Gogh realized that he needed to live in a mental institution. On May 8, 1889, he set out for the monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. During the year he lived here, the artist continuously painted whenever his health allowed.
Van Gogh’s love scars and the women he passed through in his lifeNot only did Van Gogh work hard at composing, it seemed like Van Gogh never let his heart rest as he continuously fell in love with people 10 years older than him to women with children he knew on the street.
