Why it matters
Van Gogh painted Irises within his first month at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, working directly from the flowers in the hospital garden. He considered it only a study, yet its cropped composition, vivid colour and thick impasto give it an energetic, expressive force, with the irises seeming to overflow the edges of the canvas.
Did you know?
- There are no known preparatory drawings for it.
- He painted around 150 canvases during his year at the asylum.
- It has been in the Getty's collection since 1990.
Based on the Wikipedia article Irises (painting) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
