Meadow with yellow flowers

Painted at Saint-Rémy in 1889, this view of a meadow ablaze with yellow flowers captures the wild, sunlit Provençal landscape surrounding the asylum that Van Gogh painted whenever he was permitted outside. Yellow — the color he associated most strongly with sunlight, warmth, and joy — permeates the scene, transforming what might be a simple meadow view into something close to a vision of luminous abundance. This kind of intensely colorful landscape painting, in which nature becomes an expression of emotional and spiritual states, represents Van Gogh's most characteristic contribution to the Post-Impressionist tradition.

Van Gogh renders the meadow in dense, short strokes of varying yellows and greens, creating a vibratory surface texture that seems to pulse with light. The sky above is cooler in tone, providing contrast. The brushwork is uniform in energy but varies in direction, giving the meadow an undulating, breathing quality.