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Hospital at Saint-Rémy, 1889
Van Gogh chose a vertical format to give full height to the massive pine trees that dwarfed the male wing of the hospital building. The reddish soil, highly stylised tree trunks and interlocking branches overhead produce a vibrant but oppressive environment within which Van Gogh arranges a number of figures, including perhaps himself, just left of centre. The women are an invention; female patients were not allowed in this part of the grounds.
Oil on canvas
The Armand Hammer Collection, Gift of the Armand Hammer Foundation, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles