A Woman Walking in a Garden

This 1887 Paris canvas of a solitary woman walking in a garden belongs to Van Gogh's sustained interest in the figure-in-landscape subject that he associated with his admired predecessors Monticelli and Corot. He had been studying Adolphe Monticelli's thickly painted garden scenes with particular attention, finding in them a precedent for the expressive use of heavy impasto in outdoor settings that he was developing in his own Paris-period garden subjects. The solitary woman walking communicated something that recurs throughout his Paris and Arles periods: the figure defined by her isolation within a social or natural setting, present but not engaged, moving through a space that absorbs her. He wrote to Theo that he found Monet's garden series and Renoir's outdoor scenes inspiring but wanted something with a heavier emotional weight, and these Paris garden figures represent his attempt to maintain emotional depth while absorbing Impressionist brightness.

Flickering strokes of pale green, yellow, and lilac build the garden setting. The figure is painted with greater definition than the surrounding vegetation, drawing the eye through the dappled space. The palette is noticeably lighter and fresher than the dark Nuenen work.