Vincent van Gogh | Irises, 1890
In May 1890, just before he checked himself out of the asylum at Saint-Rémy, Van Gogh painted four exuberant bouquets of spring flowers, the only still lifes of any ambition he had undertaken during his yearlong stay: two of irises, two of roses, in contrasting color schemes and formats.
In the Museum’s Irises he sought a “harmonious and soft” effect by placing the “violet” flowers against a “pink background”, which have since faded owing to his use of fugitive red pigments.
Vincent van Gogh | Irises, 1890 | Metropolitan Museum of Art




