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Roses, 1889
Van Gogh’s attention was caught by the profusion of pink blooms on this rose bush in the overgrown garden at Saint-Rémy. Manipulating thickly applied paint with a wide variety of brushstrokes, from the swirling to the spiky, he captures the differing textures of the soft rose petals amid the surrounding grasses, flowers, shrubs and weeds.
Oil on canvas
The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Matsukata Collection