Irises, 1889
Vincent van Gogh
Oil on canvas · 74.3 x 94.3 cm
Densely packed asylum-garden blooms, one deliberately paler than the rest.
Painted in 1890, van Gogh's irises writhe and lean in vivid blue-violet against earth and gold. No two blooms are alike; the twisting leaves and cropped, off-centre composition owe a debt to the Japanese prints he loved. Fresh, rhythmic and endlessly decorative.
What you're looking at
One iris is white and every other one is blue. He painted them in the garden of the asylum at Saint-Rémy within a week of arriving, before he was allowed out beyond the walls. The colours have shifted since: the red pigment he mixed into the petals has faded, so what reads as blue now was painted a warmer violet.
On a Frame TV
About 4:5. Matted file — the clean crop would cut the leaves that give the blooms their rhythm. Saturated and high in contrast, comfortable in a bright room.
J. Paul Getty Museum · Visit it in Los Angeles →
- 4K master file (3840px+)
- Samsung Frame TV–ready crop
- Phone wallpaper crop
- Printable art card
Public domain · one .zip, no sign-up
More like this
Other works in the collection, starting with Vincent van Gogh.
