A New Light on Van Gogh’s Irises
Examine the painting from the perspective of modern conservation science and see the colors of the original version of the famed painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
Getty conservators and scientists have worked together to uncover the artist’s materials and working methods, and were able to examine how light has irrevocably changed some of the colors of the painting.
I have two others on the go - violet irises and a lilac bush. Two subjects taken from the garden.
Vincent to his brother Theo on May 9, 1889
The Hospital Garden
In May of 1889 Vincent Van Gogh entered a psychiatric clinic in the south of France, in an attempt to restore his failing mental health.
During the first month of his year-long stay at the clinic, Van Gogh was confined to the grounds, where his only connection to nature was the enclosed garden and the view from his bedroom window.
He frequented the garden to find solace in painting.
Irises bears a direct trace of his work outdoors: embedded in the paint is one of the pollen cones that fall in abundance from the umbrella pine trees in the garden.
Irises (Front)The J. Paul Getty Museum
Some colors Van Gogh used in the painting have changed over time. Notably, he told his brother that he was working on “violet irises”.
Today, however, they appear blue.
Van Gogh and color
Van Gogh was deeply interested in color theory, which he learned from 19th century sources and the artists he admired or met in Paris. He was particularly interested in how complementary colors could be used together to heighten vibrancy.
Irises (Front)The J. Paul Getty Museum
It would have been surprising, given his interest in color, for Van Gogh to describe the irises as blue if they were actually violet.
Looking Scientifically
Getty researchers therefore wanted to better understand Van Gogh’s color choices, and to determine if the colors of the painting had changed over time.
They employed many noninvasive analytical techniques to study Irises, including a method called x-ray fluorescence scanning that measures the distribution of individual chemical elements across the painting.
Irises Enhanced (2024) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
The resulting images show which chemical elements are present and where they are on the painting. This, combined with our knowledge of the materials available to Van Gogh, allowed us to infer which pigments (or combination of pigments) he used.
An important finding was the presence of bromine in many of the petals.
Bromine is an indicator of the red pigment geranium lake, which Van Gogh mixed with blue pigments to create violet.
Irises Restoration (blue) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Exposure to light early in the painting's history caused the red component of his once-violet paint to fade, leaving only the blue visible and dramatically affecting our perception of the painting.
Blue Iris XRF Map (2024) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Reconstructing Irises
Knowing which pigments Van Gogh used, and how they changed over time, allowed us to approximate the original color of his irises.
The bromine element map provided a template for digitally recreating the violet hue in areas where the red pigment has faded.
Irises Restoration (orange) (2024) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Other colors that have changed over time were similarly corrected, such as some of the yellows in the upper-left portion of the painting, which originally appeared more orange.
We applied the corrected colors to a digital model of the painting using image-processing techniques. The reconstruction illustrates Van Gogh’s grasp of the color science of his day, employing complementary colors to create rich, vibrant petals.
Closeup, texture (2024) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
Through 3D-imaging (photogrammetry) and printing technology we also reproduced the texture that is so integral to Van Gogh's paintings.
Comparison Irises with facsimile (2024) by Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum
While this process may not perfectly capture the magic of Van Gogh's original painting, we can now see Irises in a new light, and closer to the artist's intention.
© 2025 The J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles
The material featured here was taken from the gallery text of the exhibition Ultra-Violet: New Light on Van Gogh’s Irises, Oct 1, 2024 - Mar 9, 2025 on view at the Getty Center.
For more resources:
Recreation of Van Gogh’s Irises
Therapeutic Nature: Van Gogh's Art and the Hospital Garden on Youtube
Examining Irises on Youtube
PST x Getty x Smarthistory: Insights into Van Gogh’s Irises on Youtube Irises in Bloom
To cite this exhibition, please use: "A New Light on Van Gogh's Irises" published online in 2025 via Google Arts & Culture, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
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