The Poet's Garden

About this work

You see a wild garden: tall grass with tiny white flowers, a tangle of trees in different greens, and a thick yellow sky pressing down. A small blue triangle peeks above the trees like a distant mountain. Van Gogh painted this while living in Arles, where he hoped to start an artists’ community. The thick paint—almost sculpted—makes the leaves look alive. He used bright colors straight from the tube, no mixing. If you like this, look up impasto—the technique of slathering paint so it stands out from the canvas.