Vincent van Gogh: 11 works

'Van Gogh was fascinated by such peasant dwellings, which he called 'human nests.''

'In the winter of 1884-1885, wishing to master figure painting, Van Gogh painted over forty studies of peasant heads. He chose models who conformed to his view of peasants, with 'coarse, flat faces, low foreheads and thick lips, not sharp but full.''

'The play of the sunlight falling through the foliage onto the forest floor gave Van Gogh an opportunity to experiment with innumerable variations of green.'

'Vincent van Gogh painted a total of some 35 self-portraits during the course of his career.'

'In bad weather, or if a strong wind prevented him from painting outside, Van Gogh often painted still lifes. He may have come upon the idea of painting this crab after seeing Japanese prints of the same subject.'

'He considered this impressive vista one of his finest works.'

'Van Gogh hoped his paintings of orchards in bloom would sell well because they would appeal to many people. He experimented with his painting technique by sometimes using thick, rough brushstrokes, or even by leaving areas of canvas completely unpainted. Van Gogh was the most satisfied with this painting, which together with The pink peach tree and The pink orchard formed a triptych.'

'Van Gogh was pleased with the effect: 'I believe that an abundance of gaslight, which, after all, is yellow and orange, intensifies blue.' Constellations He writes to his sister Wil: 'I enormously enjoy painting on the spot at night.''

'In the wake of several mental crises, Van Gogh had decided to commit himself to the hospital there at the end of April 1889. In September 1889, Van Gogh wrote about the meaning of this painting, referring to the well-known biblical metaphor: "A reaper, the study is all yellow, terribly thickly impasted, but the subject was beautiful and simple.'

'Van Gogh painted this view of the grown beneath the ivy-clad trees.'

'Van Gogh painted other scenes of trees and woods. He often cut off his compositions in an unusual fashion, often painting trees without their tops, or a piece of woodland showing only undergrowth and flowers -- or, as here, only the roots of the trees.'