Almond Blossoms by Vincent Van Gogh Placemat

Almond Blossoms by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas 1890, is a painting of the branches of an almond tree with small, blooming white flowers against a clear and bright blue sky. Painted with the influences of Impressionism and Japanese prints in its flattened colors and bold, expressive outlines, the subject spreads across the entire picture plane as if about to grow out of it. Van Gogh created the painting for his family in celebration of the birth of a child to his beloved brother, Theo, the Paris art dealer who had supported the artist through his many years of apprenticeship as a painter. Though Van Gogh suffers a romantically exaggerated reputation for madness, Almond Blossoms embodies the joy, serenity and sense of wonder before nature of his mature, Post-Impressionist period. Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) was a Dutch painter of the Post-Impressionist movement known for bold, expressive drawing, swirling brushstrokes and intense, heightened colors. In early adulthood Van Gogh worked as an art dealer, teacher and pastor before taking up the full time study of drawing and painting in his late twenties. Influenced by Rembrandt, the 19th century Realists and Barbizon school, Van Gogh’s early paintings featured studies of workers and peasants in somber earth tones. Moving to France in 1886, Van Gogh met with the startling innovations of the Impressionist painters and began to apply their approach to color and subject matter, which continued into the mature style for which the artist is most renowned. Van Gogh produced many hundreds of drawings and paintings including portraits, landscapes, still life and flower paintings, and numerous self-portraits that became a dominating influence on the modern art of the 20th century and made him one of the most popular artists of all time.