Trees and Undergrowth

Vincent van Gogh

Contemporary-Art.org
Keywords: TreesUndergrowth

Work Overview

Trees and Undergrowth
1887
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam 


In Trees and Undergrowth (F309a) Van Gogh portrays the play of light falling through the trees to the low-lying plants in highlights of white, yellow and red. The effect of the light and shade produces many shades of green which van Gogh paints in short brushstrokes across the canvas. A horizon line is suggested by a line of yellow, suggesting a clearing beyond the cropping of trees and foliage.


This Van Gogh painting shows a corner of the garden at the asylum in Saint-Rémy. 'I also have a new one with ivy on the go,' he wrote to his brother Theo. He had made paintings of the same subject near Paris two years earlier.


At first glance, all you can see here are some tree trunks overgrown with ivy and patches of light on the ground. But if you zoom into this painting, you can hardly see anything but a sea of loose brushstrokes. These strokes are mostly short and surprisingly varied in colour. The only longer lines are the outlines of the trees.