Vincent van Gogh - Irises [1890]

Vincent van Gogh - Irises [1890], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Upon his arrival at the asylum in Saint-Rémy in May 1889, Van Gogh painted views of the institution's overgrown garden. He ignored still-life subjects during his year long hospital stay, but before leaving the artist brought his work in Saint-Rémy full circle with four lush bouquets of spring flowers: two of roses and two of irises, in contrasting formats and colour harmonies. Van Gogh noted that in the "two canvases representing big bunches of violet irises," he placed "one lot against a pink background" and the other "against a startling citron yellow background" to exploit the play of "disparate complementaries." 

Owing to the use of a fugitive red pigment, the "soft and harmonious" effect that he had sought in the Metropolitan's painting through the "combination of greens, pinks, violets" has been altered by the fading of the once pink background to almost white. 

[Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York - Oil on canvas, 73.7 x 92.1 cm]