BRANCHES WITH ALMOND BLOSSOM by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890, oil on canvas, 28.9 in. x 36 in
Even without he artist’s name on this canvas, the brushwork, the composition, the drawing are unmistakable. This is signature Van Gogh. And yet, this painting, Branches With Almond Blossom is so atypical of the artist’s other works.
Shortly after Van Gogh’s arrival in the South of France the trees were beginning to blossom. For Van Gogh they were the trumpeter of spring, the herald of new beginnings, of rebirth. During the spring of 1888 he painted a series of blossoming fruit trees; Pear trees, mulberry, peach, almond. And even when colder temperatures prevented him from painting outdoors, he would set up still lifes of the blooms in his studio.
It was with the birth of his brother, Theo’s son named Vincent, that inspired Van Gogh, to commemorate the occasion by painting Branches With Almond Blossom.
This painting stands alone in his body of work. Absent are frenetic brushstrokes we normally associate with Van Gogh. Instead this painting shows a very careful, steady and deliberate hand.
Gone are the bold primary colors seen in so much of his work. Instead he uses a very narrow color palette: robin’s egg blue for the sky, shades of mint green for the branches, white for the almond blossoms and black as an outline.
Finally, it was Van Gogh practice to paint viewing his subjects head on or viewing them from a higher elevation looking down. Yet, here in this painting Van Gogh takes the perspective of looking directly up in to the branches of the tree. Like so many of his works we can see the influence of Japanese artists exemplified in woodblock prints.
The result is a painting of thoughtful, serene beauty.
As for the child for whom this painting was created. What happened to his namesake, young Vincent. He later founded the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
THIS PAINTING IS NOW AVAILABLE AS A HANDMADE OIL REPRODUCTION FROM 1ST ART GALLERY: www.1st-art-ga...