Artwork
The Flowering Orchard
The Flowering Orchard 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 piece represents a direct observation of nature, emphasizing the vitality of the orchard subject matter through the artist's medium of choice.
Painted in Arles during 1888, The Flowering Orchard depicts a tree in bloom, capturing a specific moment of natural renewal. The work focuses entirely on the botanical subject, presenting the flowering tree as the central iconographic element without additional narrative figures or complex allegorical structures. While the painting is historically associated with van Gogh's broader exploration of spring and rebirth during his time in southern France, the available records strictly define its visual content as a singular tree rendered in oil on canvas.
The piece represents a direct observation of nature, emphasizing the vitality of the orchard subject matter through the artist's medium of choice.
Technique & Style
The Flowering Orchard is an oil painting executed on canvas, with the work measuring 72.4 by 53.3 centimeters. Produced in Arles in 1888, the painting belongs to Van Gogh's series of orchard scenes from that period, depicting trees in bloom. The canvas passed through several hands, including Henk Bremmer, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, the Furniture workshop of E.J. van Wisselingh & Co., and Wildenstein & Company, before entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
History & Provenance
Vincent van Gogh painted The Flowering Orchard in Arles in 1888. The work's ownership history includes Henk Bremmer and Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who was the artist's sister-in-law and key custodian of his estate. It later passed through the furniture workshop of E.J. van Wisselingh & Co. and the art dealership Wildenstein & Company before entering the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains.
Overview
Vincent van Gogh’s 1894 oil work titled The Flowering Orchard presents a landscape dominated by a solitary, gnarled tree set against a light sky. The canvas is part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is displayed among the museum’s European paintings.
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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.
