Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)
Peach Trees in Blossom
1889
Oil on canvas, 65 x 81 cm
Courtauld Institute of Art, London
F 514, JH 1681
Vincent van Gogh captured this view of an open plain outside Arles in early spring 1889. He wrote to his brother that the blossoms and the distant snow-capped mountain reminded him of the cherry trees and Mount Fuji in the Japanese prints he collected and greatly admired. Van Gogh had moved to the south of France a year earlier, hoping that the Provençal light and landscape would inspire his art. The scene is rendered with a great variety of brushstrokes, from thick dots of paint for the blossoms to long streaks for the mountains. (Courtauld)