Still Life: Vase with Zinnias

Van Gogh's Still Life: Vase with Zinnias from 1888, painted at Arles, brings his characteristic chromatic intensity to one of the most vivid of summer flowers. Zinnias — their saturated reds, oranges, and yellows — provided material for the complementary color relationships he was exploring in his mature period. The simple vase arrangement focused all compositional energy on the flowers' color rather than elaborate compositional structure. The work is currently in a private collection.

The zinnias' vivid color is the composition's entire subject — saturated reds and oranges against the surrounding green foliage. Van Gogh's Arles palette maximizes the chromatic intensity. His brushwork on the flowers is energetic and varied, each bloom distinguished through individual attention. The vase provides a simple neutral anchor below.