Almond in blossom in glass

Vincent Van Gogh has produced all of his works, which included 864 paintings and 1,200 drawings and prints, within a decade. Van Gogh has done most of his paintings outdoors and had a special talent for capturing the subtleties of nighttime light and shadow. Van Gogh was fascinated by the orchards, filled with apricot, peach and plum trees when he arrived to Arles around March 1888. The painting Almond Blossom in Glass is unusual and unique in Vincent's oeuvre. The branches appear to be floating against the sky and weather or not it is still part of tree is not clear. With an unusual regularity, the entire pictorial surface has been filled with branches, which are further accented by the use of dark contours. Both this sharp outlining and the placement of the tree were certainly inspired by Japanese prints, which Van Gogh had seen for the first time in Paris. Van Gogh after arriving in Province in February 1888 was surprised & fascinated to find snow on the ground. The Almond trees had earlier blossom and had already produced flowers, despite the cold. Van Gogh picked this sprig to his room to paint it. Van Gogh drew a bright red line in the background of the painting to create contrast to the soothing colors of the glass and the flower in blossom. The painting was done a heavy, acid-free & watercolor textured paper with and done with Giclee printing process to deliver a fine stream of ink resulting in vivid, pure color and exceptional detail that is suitable for museum display. On January 31, 1890, Van Gogh's younger brother, Theo, informed Van Gogh about the birth of his son, whom he had named Vincent Willem. Van Gogh made this painting of his favorite subject: blossoming branches against a blue sky and gifted to his brother. Vincent picked up an almond tree depicting a symbol of new life.