Almond Blossom

Almond Blossom is an oil on canvas that Vincent van Gogh painted in February 1890 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in southern France. Although blossoming almond trees had been a recurring subject since his arrival in Arles two years earlier, this picture stands apart. Pale white flowers cluster along branches set against an intense blue sky. The composition is unusual within his output: the branches seem to drift across the surface and fill almost the whole picture plane, so the viewer feels close to the tree, and some of the limbs appear to reach beyond the edges of the frame.

The painting grew out of a family event. In January 1890 his brother Theo announced the birth of a son, named Vincent Willem after the painter. Van Gogh decided to make a gift for the couple, intended for their bedroom. He told his mother that he would have preferred the boy to bear their father's name, but since the choice had been made, he wanted to mark the occasion with a picture of white almond branches under a blue sky. For him the almond blossom stood for the return of life after winter, a meaning that suited a newborn well.

Stylistically, the work draws on several sources. Short, broken strokes recall Impressionism, while dabs of contrasting colour point to Divisionism, giving the surface a shimmering quality. The dark outlines around the branches and the flattened space reflect his admiration for Japanese woodblock prints, which he had collected in large numbers. The picture remains one of the most recognisable works from his blossom series, and it shows how a simple subject could become a quiet image of hope.

Painter

Vincent van Gogh

Date

1890

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

74 × 92 cm

Museum

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Genre

floral painting

Depicts

branch, Prunus dulcis, flower

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