1887, Vincent van Gogh, Daisies, Arles -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: Compared to the tiring pace of life in bustling Paris, the Provençal town of Arles appeared to Van Gogh as an exotic land populated by otherworldly beings. He had moved there in February 1888, hopeful that its bright skies and bountiful flora would allow him to fully explore the effects of color and set his work apart from other Post-Impressionist painters. He began filling his canvases with views of the region: expansive fields and skies, blossoming fruit trees, interiors and exteriors of houses, townsfolk and self- portraits, and floral still lifes--works that constituted the iconography of Van Gogh's first great period. By this time, the techniques of Japanese printmaking were deeply ingrained into his creative process, and he conceived the majority of his compositions with what he called his "Japanese eye." Stylistic features he borrowed from 19th-century ukiyo-e woodcuts for this still life include the high horizon that allows a detailed view of the flowers, the emphasis on the foreground and background to suggest spatial depth, and bright, flat areas of color. Although the monochromatic green tones are immediately perceived, Van Gogh introduced contrasting notes throughout the composition, painting streaks of blue around the orange terracotta pot and adding a red signature. His method of squeezing tube paint directly onto his canvas to create bold outlines testifies to the intense and prolific pace of his creative output during his first summer in Arles.
Link to other van Gogh paintings.
1887, Vincent van Gogh, Daisies, Arles -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: Compared to the tiring pace of life in bustling Paris, the Provençal town of Arles appeared to Van Gogh as an exotic land populated by otherworldly beings. He had moved there in February 1888, hopeful that its bright skies and bountiful flora would allow him to fully explore the effects of color and set his work apart from other Post-Impressionist painters. He began filling his canvases with views of the region: expansive fields and skies, blossoming fruit trees, interiors and exteriors of houses, townsfolk and self- portraits, and floral still lifes--works that constituted the iconography of Van Gogh's first great period. By this time, the techniques of Japanese printmaking were deeply ingrained into his creative process, and he conceived the majority of his compositions with what he called his "Japanese eye." Stylistic features he borrowed from 19th-century ukiyo-e woodcuts for this still life include the high horizon that allows a detailed view of the flowers, the emphasis on the foreground and background to suggest spatial depth, and bright, flat areas of color. Although the monochromatic green tones are immediately perceived, Van Gogh introduced contrasting notes throughout the composition, painting streaks of blue around the orange terracotta pot and adding a red signature. His method of squeezing tube paint directly onto his canvas to create bold outlines testifies to the intense and prolific pace of his creative output during his first summer in Arles.
Link to other van Gogh paintings.