page_title: Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses
section_title: Flowers as a subject
hierarchical_section_title: Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses / Flowers as a subject
context_page_description: Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses was painted in 1890 by Vincent van Gogh in Saint-Rémy. At the time the work was painted Van Gogh was readying himself to leave the Saint-Rémy asylum for the quiet town of Auvers-sur-Oise outside of Paris. This and the similarly-dated Pink Roses reflect the optimism Van Gogh felt at that time about his future, both in his choice of flowers as a subject and the colors used. The painting is owned by the National Gallery of Art of Washington, D.C.
context_section_description: Flowers were the subject of many of Van Gogh's paintings in Paris, due in great part to his regard for flowers. As said to his brother, "You will see that by making a habit of looking at Japanese pictures you will come to love to make up bouquets and do things with flowers all the more." To his sister, Wil, Van Gogh advised her to cultivate her own garden, like Voltaire's Candide, to find joy and meaning in life. After he left Paris and settled in Arles Van Gogh painted his second group of Sunflowers in 1888 and 1889. His paintings of sunflowers in vases are among his most well known paintings.
  In Paris friends and acquaintances sent bouquets of flowers weekly for his still life paintings. He also purchased bouquets inexpensively, choosing a variety of flowers and colors for his paintings.  In a letter to his sister Wil he said, "Last year I painted almost nothing but flowers so I could get used to colors other than grey - pink, soft or bright green, light blue, violet, yellow, glorious red." That was an exaggeration, as during his time in Paris he painted 230 paintings, about 30 of which were flowers. Yet, the comment demonstrates his interest in painting flowers as a subject and to further develop his appreciation and understanding of color.
caption: Vincent van Gogh's Flowers in a Blue Vase, about 1889-1890
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