Small pear tree in blossom

Small Pear Tree in Blossom, painted in April 1888 and now at the Van Gogh Museum, belongs to the Arles orchard series and is among the most intimate and elegant of these works. The single small tree — isolated against a blue sky with a fence and background buildings suggesting the semi-rural character of Arles's gardens — is rendered with extraordinary freshness and directness. Van Gogh described the blooming trees of Provence as extraordinarily beautiful to his brother Theo, comparing them to Japanese art in their combination of simplicity and expressive power. This small pear tree, rendered at close range against the sky, exemplifies that quality.

The composition is strikingly simple: a single tree trunk with blossoming branches against a clear sky, with minimal contextual detail. Van Gogh renders the blossoms with individual strokes for individual flowers and clusters, building the impression of white-pink bloom through accumulated painterly observation. The trunk and branches are precise dark lines against the bright surface. His sky is a pure, flat blue — almost decorative in its clarity. The fence and background are handled with rapid economy.