''Bulb Fields'', also known as ''Flower Beds in Holland'', is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

created by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

in early 1883. It was donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC in 1983. ''Bulb Fields'' was Van Gogh's first garden painting, in oil paint on canvas mounted on wood. It was made in Van Gogh's second year in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. It depicts the rectangular plots of blue, yellow, pink and red hyacinths grown by a Dutch bulb merchant. The low vantage point creates a panoramic view of the field of colourful spring flowers, with thatched cottages and leafless trees in the background. The regular composition allows Van Gogh to explore his interest in perspective. It seems likely that Van Gogh left the painting with other early works at his family's house in

Nuenen Nuenen () is a town in the municipality of Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten in the Netherlands. From 1883 to 1885, Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Nuenen. In 1944, the town was a battle scene during Operation Market Garden. The local dialect i ...

in 1885, and then it accompanied his recently widowed mother and sister when they moved to Breda in early 1886. With other possessions, it was stored by a carpenter, Adrianus Schrauwen, who sold it along with other worthless "rubbish" in 1902 to the merchant J.C. Couvreur. It was exhibited at the Kunstzalon Oldenzeel in Rotterdam in 1902 with the title ''Tulpenland'' (Dutch: "Tulip country"), even though the flowers are hyacinths. It was bought by Jan Smit in 1905, and sold to his grandson John Enthoven in 1919. After passing through the hands of several art dealers, it was acquired by Paul Mellon from the

Knoedler M. Knoedler & Co. was an art dealership in New York City founded in 1846. When it closed in 2011, amid lawsuits for fraud, it was one of the oldest commercial art galleries in the US, having been in operation for 165 years. History Knoedler dat ...

gallery in 1955. Mellon donated it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC in 1983.''Flower Beds in Holland''
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

References

External links

* 1883 paintings Paintings by Vincent van Gogh Paintings in the National Gallery of Art Flower paintings {{19C-painting-stub

See also

References

External links