Vase with Irises

Painted at Auvers-sur-Oise in May 1890 — one of the first works Van Gogh made after arriving from Saint-Rémy — this vase of irises shows him immediately returning to flower subjects that had sustained him at the asylum. The irises were reportedly cut from the asylum garden and brought with him, or observed in the gardens of Auvers. He worked rapidly in the natural light of Auvers, and the canvas has a freshness and immediacy that suggests the relief of freedom after the confined asylum months. Now at the Van Gogh Museum, it is a key transitional work between Saint-Rémy and the final Auvers period.

Dense impasto in blue, violet, and white iris petals is set against a vivid yellow-orange background — a colour clash of extreme intensity. The surrounding colour creates a visual vibration that makes the irises appear to advance aggressively off the surface. The vase below is loosely rendered, serving primarily as an anchoring device for the explosive floral mass above.