“This painting offers a close-up, vibrant view of irises, created by Van Gogh during a period of recovery and intense artistic output in a French asylum. It captures his characteristic expressive brushwork and love for nature.”
A vibrant field of irises bursts forth in this painting, captured by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. You can almost feel the texture of the thick paint, applied with dynamic brushstrokes that give the flowers and leaves a sense of movement. The composition is cropped tightly, bringing the viewer right into the garden, almost as if looking through a camera lens. Van Gogh painted this work during his voluntary stay at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, finding solace and a sense of purpose in depicting the natural world around him. He considered this painting a "study," yet it reveals his deep engagement with the irises of the hospital garden, a subject he associated with Japanese art, which he greatly admired.
- Artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Date
- 1889
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- J. Paul Getty Museum
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.
The varying shades of blue and violet in the irises, suggesting different stages of bloom.
The red-orange earth contrasting with the lush green leaves.
The distinctive impasto technique, where paint is thickly applied, creating visible texture.
A single white iris, standing out among its purple companions.
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Vincent van Gogh
1853–1890 · Kingdom of the NetherlandsVincent van Gogh, whose vibrant brushwork and bold colors transformed landscapes and portraits, created 2,100 artworks in just over a decade.
Further Works by van Gogh
Olive Trees
1853 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Peasant Woman Digging in Front of Her Cottage
1880 · Art Institute of Chicago
Still Life with Clogs
1881 · Kröller-Müller Museum
Cart with Black Ox
1884 · Portland Art Museum
Cart with Red and White Ox
1884 · Kröller-Müller Museum
Still Life with Pots, Jar and Bottles
1884 · Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Head of a Peasant Woman with Green Shawl
1885 · Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon
The Potato Peeler (reverse: Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat)
1885 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
More from Expressionism
More works to explore
Beyond van Gogh and Expressionism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Irises belongs to.
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Albert (René) Grenier (1858–1925)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1887 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
Okada Saburosuke · 1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Carmelina
Henri Matisse · 1903 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Léon Clapisson
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
The Old Guitarist
Pablo Picasso · 1903 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Still Life with Crayfish
Mikhail Larionov · 1900 · Museum Ludwig
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
The Seine at Pont de Grenelle
Paul Gauguin · 1875 · Wallraf–Richartz Museum
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Kawabata Gyokushō · 1877 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Gustave Boyer (b. 1840) in a Straw Hat
Paul Cézanne · 1870 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
("Leda") Design for a Plate: Shame on Those Who Evil Think (Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense) ; cover illustration for the "Volpini Suite" entitled Lithographic Drawings (Dessins lithographiques)
Paul Gauguin · 1889 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same movement · Post-Impressionism
Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray
Piet Mondrian · 1921 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Moulin de la Galette
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1889 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Rocks at Fontainebleau
Paul Cézanne · 1890 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn)
Claude Monet · 1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Street in Moret
Alfred Sisley · 1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Two Girls Reading in a Garden
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1890
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Young Girl with Hat
Berthe Morisot · 1891 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Cows Drinking at a Pool
William Hart · 1886 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston