Vase van Gogh “Pollard Willows at Sunset”

Pollard willows at sunset (Arles, 1888)

The pollard willows in the light of the red evening sun reflect Van Gogh’s state of mind in the autumn of 1888. After a long summer of painting in seclusion, he felt exhausted and lonely.

Pollard willows were a favourite subject for the artist who grew up in the Brabant countryside. They also lent themselves perfectly to a graphic representation in the spirit of the Japanese graphics he admired. In October 1881 he wrote to his brother Theo: “If one draws a pollard willow as if it were a living being, and that is actually the case, then the surroundings follow relatively automatically as long as one has concentrated all one’s attention on that particular tree and has not rested until something of life has come into it”.

Height: 27cm