| The Mulberry Tree |
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Details | |
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Oil on canvas 54.0 x 65.0 cm. Saint-Rémy: October, 1889 F 637, JH 1796 Pasadena, California: The Norton Simon Museum of Art |
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| History | ||
| Provenance Exhibitions |
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| Analysis | ||
| See below |
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Vincent van Gogh painted The Mulberry Tree while in voluntary confinement at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, France. Although Van Gogh suffered ongoing attacks (likely caused, at least in part, by epilepsy), he nevertheless produced some of his most powerful works during periods of lucidity. The Mulberry Tree is a magnificent example of his output during his time in the asylum.
Van Gogh was especially pleased with The Mulberry Tree and would write to his brother Theo about it in two separate letters. In a letter to his sister, Willemina, Van Gogh wrote: As regards mulberry trees, there are a lot here. I painted one not long ago when its bushy foliage was a magnificent yellow against a very blue sky and a white, stony, sunlit field behind.As he mentions in this letter, Van Gogh's commanding use of the colours blue and yellow is particularly effective and he would masterfully employ this colour combination in a number of other outstanding works such as The Yellow House and Harvest in Provence. Lanier Graham, a former curator at the Norton Simon Museum, wrote of this painting: "As a celebration of the surging forces that pulsate throughout the universe, The Mulberry Tree is one of the most powerful images of nature ever painted."1
References 1. Graham, Lanier. Vincent van Gogh. Painter. Printmaker. Collector. (Norton Simon Museum, 1990), p. 24. |
| Owner | City | Country | Date acquired |
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| Mrs. C. Pissarro | Paris | France | |
| Ambroise Vollard Art Gallery | Paris | France | |
| Alphonse Kann | Saint Germain-en-Laye | France | |
| Mr. and Mrs. Norton Simon | Los Angeles | United States | |
| Norton Simon Museum of Art | Pasadena, California | United States | 1976 |
| Year | City | Country | Venue | Exhibition Name | Start Date | End Date | No. |
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| 1890 | Paris | France | Pavillion de la Ville de Paris | Exposition de la Societé des Artistes Indépdendants, 4e exposition | 22 March 1890 | 3 May 1890 | 837 |
| 1901 | Paris | France | Galerie Bernheim-Jeune | Exposition d'Oeuvres de Vincent van Gogh | 15 March 1901 | 31 March 1901 | 46 |
| 1927 | Paris | France | Galerie Bernheim-Jeune | Vincent van Gogh l'époque française | 20 June 1927 | 2 July 1927 |
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