“Almond Blossom”
A welcoming sight for early spring…
“Almond Blossom” is a lovely oil on canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist artist, Vincent van Gogh, from 1890. This is a personal painting, a gift that van Gogh made for his brand-new nephew who was named after him, Vincent Willem.
In January of 1890, van Gogh’s brother, Theo, had a son. He named him Vincent, after his brother, the artist. Immediately in response, van Gogh created this painting to hang in Theo’s bedroom that he shared with his wife, Johanna, and their newborn son. It is of one of his favorite subjects, the white and pink blossoms of an almond tree silhouetted against the blue sky.
Theo wrote to Vincent, “As we told you, we’ll name him after you, and I’m making the wish that he may be as determined and as courageous as you.”
After, van Gogh wrote to his mother, “How glad I was when the news came… I should have greatly preferred him to call the boy after Father, of whom I have been thinking so much these days, instead of after me; but seeing it has now been done, I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky.”
Almond trees are one of the many flowering trees that bloom in early spring in southern France that inspired the artist. While van Gogh was living in Arles, he created a series of paintings between 1888 and 1890 that prominently featured flowering almond trees. The overall composition of this piece is unique in its perspective. This is a direct influence of the Japanese prints that were in vogue at the time, of which van Gogh was so fond of. He found that brighter sunshine in southern France created silhouetted shapes against the sky that he wished to convey with his paints. The dark outlines exhibited in this piece are an example of his efforts.
“Almond Blossom” is currently on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
For more on Vincent van Gogh, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
