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The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, 1889
In the spring of 1889, Van Gogh spent extended time in the hospital in Arles, where he was given a room as a studio. He painted when well enough and carried on seeking ways to imbue observed details with emotion. ‘So it’s a painting chock-full of flowers and springtime greenery,’ he wrote to his sister, Willemien (1862-1941). ‘However, three black, sad tree-trunks cross it like snakes, and in the foreground four large sad, dark box bushes.’
Oil on canvas
The Swiss Confederation, Federal Office of Culture, Oskar Reinhart Collection ‘Am Römerholz’, Winterthur