Artwork
Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital
Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition reflects the natural world he observed from the hospital grounds, emphasizing the interplay of light and form in the Provençal countryside.
The painting presents a view of the terrain that stretches behind the Saint-Paul Hospital, where the artist was staying. It shows a rugged mountain, drifting clouds, a modest house, a field and the surrounding landscape, all rendered in oil on canvas. This scene captures the immediate environment of the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, offering a direct visual record of the terrain that framed Van Gogh's daily experience.
The composition reflects the natural world he observed from the hospital grounds, emphasizing the interplay of light and form in the Provençal countryside.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for Van Gogh's late Arles and Saint-Rémy output. Its landscape format measures 70.5 cm in height by 88.5 cm in width, giving it a horizontal orientation suited to expansive scenery. The composition depicts mountains, clouds, a house, and fields, consistent with the view behind the Saint-Paul asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where the artist was a patient in 1889.
Stylistically, the painting belongs to the landscape genre and reflects Van Gogh's characteristic handling of the Provençal countryside. The work is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
History & Provenance
Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital is an oil painting created by Vincent van Gogh in 1889 at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he was staying at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum and repeatedly depicted the mountainous terrain visible from the hospital grounds. The painting measures 70.5 by 88.5 cm.
Its current location is recorded as the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen; records also associate it with the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The available sources do not provide an accession number, intermediate owners, acquisition dates, or any exhibition history.
Overview
Vincent van Gogh's oil painting, "Mountainous Landscape Behind Saint-Paul Hospital," captures a vibrant natural scene. Created in 1889, this work showcases the artist's distinctive approach to landscape, depicting the terrain surrounding the asylum where he resided. The canvas features rolling hills under a dynamic sky, rendered with expressive brushwork that conveys a sense of movement and texture. It is currently part of the collection at the Statens Museum for Kunst.
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Artist & collection
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.
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