Vincent van Gogh – Cypresses Metropolitan Museum: part 3
Metropolitan Museum: part 3 – Vincent van Gogh - Cypresses
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It was no secret that the famous Dutch painter was plagued by bouts of insanity. After one such attack in 1889, Van Gogh was hospitalized in Saint-Rémy for the mentally ill, where he was free to paint. This period in Van Gogh’s life greatly influenced his work and his outlook on life. It was in the hospital that the artist became interested in cypresses. These trees, which grew mostly in cemeteries, were associated with the theme of death, which became close to the artist.
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Description of Vincent van Gogh’s painting "Cypresses
It was no secret that the famous Dutch painter was plagued by bouts of insanity. After one such attack in 1889, Van Gogh was hospitalized in Saint-Rémy for the mentally ill, where he was free to paint.
This period in Van Gogh’s life greatly influenced his work and his outlook on life. It was in the hospital that the artist became interested in cypresses. These trees, which grew mostly in cemeteries, were associated with the theme of death, which became close to the artist. He compared the trees of sorrow to the beautiful and well-proportioned Egyptian obelisks. In 1889 he painted Cypresses in oil on canvas.
The centerpiece of the painting are two slender cypresses. They are so tall that it seems as if the artist did not have enough canvas to depict the trees in full height. At the roots of the trees you can see the blooming grass, and in the background - blue mountains, blue sky, white fluffy clouds and the moon. The silhouettes of the trees are the only vertical elements in this horizontal landscape.
The artist depicted the cypresses in a way that no one had done before him. Several layers of paint create the effect of illuminating the dark tree crowns with golden sunlight. There is a sense of movement and nervous tension in this painting. Van Gogh strokes the paint in a spiral motion, creating a swirling effect and associating it with flames rising to the sky. The slender trees seem to tremble and bend in the strong gusts of wind as an echo of the vibrations shaking the artist’s body at the moment of another attack.
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Below this central element lies a field of golden grasses or wildflowers, also executed with energetic brushwork that conveys a feeling of restless growth. A distant landscape unfolds behind the foreground vegetation: muted blue mountains are visible on the horizon line, their forms softened by atmospheric perspective. Above them, the sky is filled with turbulent clouds, painted in shades of pink, yellow, and turquoise. A crescent moon hangs faintly within this celestial display.
The artist’s use of color is striking. The juxtaposition of the dark, almost black cypress against the vibrant yellows and blues creates a powerful visual contrast. This interplay suggests a tension between earthbound stability and an expansive, ethereal realm. The swirling brushstrokes throughout the painting contribute to a sense of emotional intensity; they seem to convey not just what is seen but also the artist’s subjective experience of it.
The cypress tree itself carries symbolic weight. Traditionally associated with cemeteries and mourning in some cultures, its presence here could evoke themes of loss or remembrance. However, its upward reach also suggests aspiration, a striving towards something beyond the earthly plane. The moon, often linked to intuition and the subconscious, reinforces this sense of yearning and spiritual exploration.
The paintings overall effect is one of dynamic energy and emotional depth. It’s not merely a depiction of nature; it’s an expression of inner turmoil and a search for transcendence through observation of the natural world. The artist seems to have been less concerned with accurate representation than with conveying a deeply felt, personal response to his surroundings.