Poplars at Saint-Rémy, 1889
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890)

Van Gogh painted this small but intensely powerful landscape at Sainte-Rémy, a small town in southern France, in October 1889. He referred to it in a letter to his brother Théo: "I have a study of two yellowing poplars against a background of mountains and a view of the park here, an autumn effect." At the time, Van Gogh was living at the asylum where he had voluntarily committed himself that spring. After a period of working from memory, he resumed painting outdoors. This painting expresses the full power of Van Gogh's mature style. The trees twist and lean to produce an excited, dynamic effect. Intense color is applied with heavy, charged brushstrokes to express his emotional reaction to the subject.