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Olive Grove

Vincent van GoghNovember 1889 - December 1889

Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Museum
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Vincent van Gogh was fascinated by the ever-changing colour of the olive trees. He tried to find a goog way of painting their irregular growth. His solution was to use wirling brushstrokes, bold outlines around the trunks and stylized blue shadows.

Van Gogh made his paintings of olives just after his friends Paul Gauguin and Émile Bernard had painted a number of religious scenes. They created those works form their imaginations. Van Gogh disagreed with that approach. He felt that reality should always be the starting point: 'My ambition is truly limited to a few clods of earth, some sprouting wheat. An olive grove', he wrote to Bernard.

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  • Title: Olive Grove
  • Creator: Vincent van Gogh
  • Creator Lifespan: 30 March 1853 - 29 July 1890
  • Creator Nationality: Dutch
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Auvers-sur-Oise
  • Creator Birth Place: Zundert
  • Date Created: November 1889 - December 1889
  • Location Created: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
  • Place Part Of: France
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
  • External Link: Olive Grove
Van Gogh Museum

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