Artwork
Still Life of Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves
Still Life of Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. It dates from 1889 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: Vincent / Arles 89
About this work
Oranges and lemons fill a bowl beside a woven basket, with a single lemon peel curling over the edge. A pair of cobalt blue gloves sits alongside the fruit. Van Gogh painted it in 1889 while recovering in an asylum, working the paint thick to build texture on the gloves and the fruit's dimpled skin.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a modest still life composed of a woven basket holding a lemon, an orange, and folded blue gloves, arranged on a tabletop.
The painting presents a modest still life composed of a woven basket holding a lemon, an orange, and folded blue gloves, arranged on a tabletop. The fruit, rendered in bright, contrasting tones, recalls van Gogh's interest in everyday provisions as symbols of nourishment and abundance, while the gloves, an intimate personal object, suggest the artist's engagement with manual labour and domestic routine. The basket unites these elements, emphasizing stability amid transience.
Together the items convey a quiet meditation on material comfort, a theme that recurs throughout van Gogh's late still lifes.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1889, this still life is an oil painting on canvas measuring 48 by 62 centimetres. Created in Arles, the work features a composition of oranges and lemons arranged within a basket alongside a pair of blue gloves. The piece is classified within the still-life genre, using oil paint applied to a woven canvas support.
Its formal qualities are defined by the juxtaposition of the citrus fruits and the distinct blue textile element.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in 1889 in Arles and sent by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo in Paris on 2 May 1889. Theo gave it to Emile Bernard, whose widow sold it to Ambroise Vollard on 7 January 1899 for 150 francs. Vollard likely sold it the same year to Cornelis Hoogendijk of Amsterdam; after Hoogendijk's death it passed to his sister Maria Ida Adriana van Blaaderen-Hoogendijk, then to her son Tom van Blaaderen, and in 1951 to his wife Hermanna F. van Blaaderen-van Geuns.
The work later entered a London private collection, was handled by Marlborough Fine Arts in 1955, acquired by Sir Alexander Korda, inherited by his widow Alexandra Boycun Korda, and sold at Sotheby's, London, on 14 June 1962. It was bought for Paul Mellon, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1999.
Overview
Still Life of Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves is an oil on canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh. This composition presents a vibrant arrangement of citrus fruits, specifically oranges and lemons, alongside a distinctive pair of cobalt blue gloves. The work exemplifies Van Gogh's characteristic approach to everyday objects, transforming them through his unique visual language and expressive brushwork, capturing both their form and a sense of their texture.
Context
This painting was created in 1889, a period when Vincent van Gogh was residing in an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. During his recovery, he continued to paint prolifically, often depicting the immediate surroundings or objects available to him. This still life reflects his ongoing engagement with art-making, even amidst personal challenges, demonstrating his persistent exploration of form and color through accessible subjects within his confined environment.
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Artist
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.
