7
Undergrowth, 1889
Van Gogh became fascinated by the large, neglected garden of the hospital at Saint-Rémy, to which he admitted himself in May 1889 after a series of mental breakdowns in the preceding months. In this innovative composition, he looks directly down into the dense undergrowth and ivy that climbs the nearby trees. The richly textured, swirling paint evokes the dense vegetation as well as the dappled light that breaks into open sunlight at the top of the canvas.
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)