The Olive Trees

Van Gogh painted The Olive Trees in June or July 1889, during his stay at the asylum at Saint-Remy-de-Provence. He had admitted himself to the asylum in May, after the breakdown that led him to cut off his ear, and he was painting in the fields around the building under supervision. A grove of olive trees fills the canvas, their trunks twisted and gnarled. The trees are painted in thick, swirling strokes of green and grey, with the bark built in heavy ridges of paint. The Alpilles mountains rise in the background, a band of blue under a sky of pale blue and white. The sun is high, casting short shadows. The canvas is roughly 28 by 36 inches, landscape format. The colors are intense: the greens of the trees, the blues of the mountains and sky, the yellows of the earth. Van Gogh painted at least 15 canvases of olive trees during his year at Saint-Remy. He wrote to his brother Theo that he had been "searching for a contrast to the Starry Night," and that the olive trees were the daylight complement to the night sky. This painting is in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Van Gogh was 36 and had less than a year to live. His work at Saint-Remy is the most productive period of his career: in 12 months he produced over 150 paintings, including The Starry Night, the iris paintings, and the olive tree series. The olive trees were painted in the fields just outside the asylum walls, and they show the same twisted, energetic brushwork as The Starry Night. Oil on canvas, 72.6 by 91.4 centimeters. Van Gogh painted with a palette of greens, blues, and yellows, building the trees in thick, swirling strokes. The bark is rendered in heavy ridges of brown and grey. The sky is a field of blue and white, with the brushwork following the curve of the clouds. This painting works in a living room, dining room, or office. The intense greens and blues suit a room with natural light, plants, or blue accents. The 18x24 framed version in a white frame is the most versatile size. The painting is in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Mrs. John Hay Whitney Bequest. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.