Oleanders
Novels with yellow covers lie beside a ceramic vase of pink oleanders: a still life from Van Gogh's Arles period, painted at a time when he was affirming life. Full commentary ↓
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Oleanders is an oil painting by Vincent van Gogh (1888) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 60.3 × 73.7 cm.
In the picturePink oleanders crowd a green ceramic vase, and two yellow-covered books lie on the table. On one of them, the title of Émile Zola's novel La joie de vivre (The Joy of Living) can be seen. The background is a yellow-green wall and the table is bright yellow. The flowers and leaves fill the upper part of the canvas.
BackgroundIt was painted in Arles in August 1888. Oleanders bloom all summer in the south of France, and Van Gogh called them "flowers that bloom madly, flowers in love." The title of Zola's novel lying beside them states the mood of the painting outright. It was a rarely bright summer in the life of a painter known for dark and difficult times.
Puzzle tipWith four colors, pink (flowers), green (leaves and vase), yellow (books and table) and yellow-green (background), sorting is easy. The leaves and the vase are the same green, which gets confusing at 100 pieces or more, but the vase has smooth brushwork while the leaves have pointed shapes. Pieces with lettering from the books are sure reference points.
- Artist
- Dutch, Zundert 1853–1890 Auvers-sur-Oise
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 60.3 x 73.7 cm
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Loeb, 1962
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
In these collections: Spring Masterpiece Puzzles · Flower Painting Puzzles
Stories about this work
- Wheat Fields, Cypresses and Sunflowers in the Met's Six Van Goghs
From a Paris self-portrait to the irises of Saint-Rémy, six paintings trace Van Gogh's last four years. Plus why the direction of the brushstrokes in each becomes a puzzle clue.
