Artwork
Roses
Roses is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition exemplifies his vigorous brushwork and focus on natural forms, reflecting the artist’s engagement with everyday motifs.
The work titled Roses is a 1890 oil painting on canvas in which Vincent van Gogh renders a bouquet of roses as the central subject, situating it within the still‑life genre. The composition exemplifies his vigorous brushwork and focus on natural forms, reflecting the artist’s engagement with everyday motifs. Measuring 93 cm by 74 cm, the piece was created in Saint‑Rémy‑de‑Provence and has passed through several private collections before entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Its classification as a still‑life painting underscores the emphasis on floral imagery as a vehicle for exploring color, texture, and the vitality of the natural world.
Technique & Style
Roses is executed in oil paint on canvas, a medium consistent with Van Gogh's late Saint-Rémy-de-Provence period. The painting measures 93 cm in height by 74 cm in width, presenting a vertically oriented still life format. As a still life genre work, it focuses on the depiction of roses arranged as the central subject.
The canvas support and oil medium allowed for the layered, textured handling characteristic of Van Gogh's technique during this phase of his career. The work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Vincent van Gogh created the oil painting Roses in 1890 while working in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The work is a still life depicting roses on canvas. Its ownership history begins with Margarete Oppenheim, followed by a succession of private and institutional owners including Wildenstein & Company, Marlborough Fine Art, Georg Hirschland, and Museum Folkwang.
Later owners included Albert Lasker and Walter Annenberg before the painting entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The piece measures 93 cm in height and 74 cm in width.
Vincent van Gogh's painting Roses (1890) is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The work, executed in oil on canvas, depicts a still life arrangement of roses and was created in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. While the provided sources do not specify a unique accession or inventory number, they document a complex ownership history involving Margarete Oppenheim, Wildenstein & Company, Marlborough Fine Art, Georg Hirschland, Museum Folkwang, Albert Lasker, and Walter Annenberg prior to its acquisition by the museum.
The sources confirm the painting's physical dimensions as 93 cm in height and 74 cm in width but do not contain specific details regarding its exhibition history or the exact date of its transfer to the Met.
Overview
Vincent van Gogh's oil painting, Roses, presents a vibrant still life of white flowers. Created in 1890, during the final months of his life, this work exemplifies his distinctive approach to natural subjects. It is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, offering a glimpse into the artist's intense engagement with color and form.
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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.
