Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass

This blossoming almond branch in a glass, painted in Arles in 1888, belongs to Van Gogh's sustained exploration of the Japanese woodblock print tradition through the specific technique of close-up botanical observation. Hiroshige's bird-and-flower series, which Van Gogh collected and had partially copied in oil paint during his Paris period, showed a way of treating flowering branches — with both precision and decorative elegance, each blossom distinct — that provided an alternative to the European tradition of the cut-flower bouquet. Van Gogh's treatment places the branch in a simple glass of water, connecting the Japanese compositional approach to the humble domestic observation he favoured. This was the same spring that produced the Arles orchard series — the blossoming peach and pear trees he painted en plein air — and the indoor branch study represents the intimate, close-up counterpart to those panoramic outdoor subjects. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Van Gogh's hallmark impasto technique layers thick, energetic brushstrokes that seem to vibrate with inner life. His palette favors intense complementary contrasts — cobalt blues against cadmium yellows.