page_title: Nerium
section_title: In painting
hierarchical_section_title: Nerium / Culture / In painting
context_page_description: Nerium oleander, most commonly known as nerium or oleander, is a shrub or small tree in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium. It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin has been identified, though it is usually associated with the Mediterranean Basin.
  Nerium grows to 2–6 m tall. It is most commonly grown in its natural shrub form, but can be trained into a small tree with a single trunk. It is tolerant to both drought and inundation, but not to prolonged frost. White, pink or red five-lobed flowers grow in clusters year-round, peaking during the summer. The fruit is a long narrow pair of follicles, which splits open at maturity to release numerous downy seeds.
  Several compounds in nerium exhibit toxicity, and it has historically been considered a poisonous plant. However, its bitterness renders it unpalatable to humans and most animals, so poisoning cases are rare and the general risk for human mortality is low.
context_section_description: Oleander has formed the subject matter of paintings by famous artists including:
  Gustav Klimt, who painted "Two Girls with an Oleander" between 1890-92.
  Vincent van Gogh painted his famous "Oleanders" in  Arles in 1888. Van Gogh found the flowers "joyous" and "life-affirming" because of their inexhaustible blooms and vigour.
  Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema incorporated Oleanders into his classically-inspired paintings, including "An Oleander" (1882), "Courtship", "Under the Roof of Blue Ionian Weather" and "A Roman Flower Market" (1868).
  "The Terrace at Méric (Oleanders)", an 1867 Impressionist painting by Frédéric Bazille.
  "The Rehearsal of the Flute Player and the Wife of Diomedes in the Atrium of Prince Napoleon's Pompeian House in Paris" (1861) by Gustave Boulanger features potted Oleanders in a Roman period scene.
  "Fulvia with the Head of Cicero" by Pavel Svedomsky - a 19th-century scene from Roman history with a potted Oleander.
caption: Oleanders by Vincent van Gogh
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