Orchard in Blossom (Apricot Trees)
About this artwork
Van Gogh immersed himself in painting the colourful orchards around Arles in the south of France, where he settled in February 1888. The structure of the branches of the apricot trees is still clearly visible through the blossom and his brushstrokes follow the direction of the vertical tree trunks. He painted a series of pictures of orchards during his prolific bouts of activity in Arles. His initial optimism, expressed in letters to his brother Theo, encouraged Gauguin to join him there. They soon quarrelled, however, being temperamentally incompatible, and the following year Van Gogh's mental illness prompted his admission to the asylum at Saint-Rémy.
Updated 2021
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artist:Vincent van GoghDutch (1853 - 1890)
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title:Orchard in Blossom (Apricot Trees)
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date created:1888
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:54.60 x 65.30 cm; Framed: 76.00 x 86.90 x 9.00 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Sir Alexander Maitland in memory of his wife Rosalind 1960
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accession number:NG 2217
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gallery:
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glossary:
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photographer:Antonia Reeve
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh's brilliant, emotionally charged paintings are the most well known of all Post-Impressionist works. Born in Holland, the son of a pastor, he tried picture dealing, teaching and book selling, before training for the ministry. After dismissal from a mission in Belgium he concentrated on...