Olive Trees by Vincent Van Gogh Postcard

Olive Trees by Vincent Van Gogh, oil on canvas 1889, is a landscape painting of the gnarled, twisted forms of an olive orchard growing from rocky, sandy soil under a brightly lit sky. Painted in swirling strokes of thickly applied, impasto oil colors, the branches and leaves swirl above the staccato choppy forms of the hilly landscape. The contrasting colors of black, purple, green, mauve, grey and blue heighten the experience of the artist before the motif of nature. Van Gogh painted a series of paintings of olive trees while seeking treatment at the asylum in Saint Remy in the Provence region of the south of France. As the artist noted in his letters, the olive series evokes a range of motifs, themes and emotions, from the growth and form of nature to the sufferings of Christ. The vibrant colors and swirling forms of the olive orchards reveal the expressionist power of Van Gogh’s mature, Post-Impressionist style. 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.