Still life with a plate of onions

Painted at Saint-Rémy in January 1889, shortly after Van Gogh's most severe breakdown and his self-mutilation, this still life of onions on a plate has been read as a deliberate statement of recovery and self-reflection. Alongside the onions sit a letter from Theo, a pipe, a candle, a medical book — objects that together suggest the context of convalescence and the ordinary pleasures of daily life that Van Gogh was trying to reclaim. It is one of the most autobiographically charged of his still lifes. Held at the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.

The composition is arranged on a pale-coloured table with careful attention to the weight and placement of each object. The onions are painted with their papery skins rendered in warm amber and green strokes. The letter and book provide flat rectangles that contrast with the rounded vegetables. The overall palette is brighter than his Nuenen work, reflecting the Arles transformation now embedded in his practice.