In 1889, Vincent van Gogh admitted himself to the asylum of St. Paul, a small hospital which sat on the lulling hills of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. While he was there, he was given an extra room to use as a studio, but eventually he was allowed to go outside, where he spent long hours painting flowers, landscapes, and olive trees. He kept returning to the olive groves, painting them in different shapes and sizes, in winter, in splendor, in rain. The series proved to be bold and experimental. This exhibition—which includes the 15 olive grove paintings made between June and December of 1889, now reunited for the first time—was originally presented at the Van Gogh Museum, the world’s leading authority in scholarly research on the artist. —E.C.
Travels to: The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, from March 11 through June 12, 2022.