Vase with Zinnias and Geraniums

Van Gogh's 1886 vase with zinnias and geraniums, now in the National Gallery of Canada, is among the most coloristically adventurous of his Paris flower paintings. Zinnias with their vivid, saturated reds, oranges, and yellows against the softer tones of geraniums gave him rich complementary color material to explore. The National Gallery of Canada's acquisition places this among major collections internationally, evidence of the worldwide dispersal of Van Gogh's Paris period works. These flower paintings were exercises in a new chromatic language that would mature into the great Arles flower series two years later.

The zinnias and geraniums are painted with vivid, direct color — the saturated reds and oranges of the zinnias dominant against the surrounding greens. Van Gogh's brushwork is energetic and varied, each flower cluster receiving individual attention. The palette is among his most chromatically adventurous from the Paris period.