Last weekend, we went to check out the Vincent van Gogh exhibit showing in our city, and I was struck by one of his works that I hadn't really appreciated before. Almond Blossom was one of the Dutch painter's final pieces, completed in 1890, just months before his death. When I had seen reproductions of it in the past, it just looked kind of bland and dainty compared to the vivid, lively stuff he did elsewhere. This was just background noise, as far as I was concerned.
The story of the painting is what caught my attention and began to change my view. On January 31, 1890, there was a new birth in the family. Vincent's most dedicated supporter and worldly agent, his brother Theo, had a son and decided to name him Vincent Willem in honor of his talented uncle. In celebration of the family's newest member, van Gogh painted the delicate and celebratory masterpiece to be hung on the wall of the baby's nursery.
Can you imagine?
It's so beautiful it breaks my heart. Seeing the painting up close, I gained a better appreciation for its remarkable depth. While you can't often see it in reproductions, the background sky churns with the same twisting energy of the blossoms and branches themselves. The painting encapsulates perfectly the loving eye that Vincent turned on the simplest elements of our world.
It's the perfect painting for both a child and an adult. As you begin to focus on the foreground, you are suddenly presented with the fact that the background, too, is alive. Everything is connected -- the blossoms and the trees and the sky itself. I can't imagine a better gift and more invaluable lesson to leave for a child as it grew up, and it's so fortunate that as a grown up I was finally able to discover some of this painting's lessons for myself. Thank you once again, Vincent.
The story of the painting is what caught my attention and began to change my view. On January 31, 1890, there was a new birth in the family. Vincent's most dedicated supporter and worldly agent, his brother Theo, had a son and decided to name him Vincent Willem in honor of his talented uncle. In celebration of the family's newest member, van Gogh painted the delicate and celebratory masterpiece to be hung on the wall of the baby's nursery.
Can you imagine?
It's so beautiful it breaks my heart. Seeing the painting up close, I gained a better appreciation for its remarkable depth. While you can't often see it in reproductions, the background sky churns with the same twisting energy of the blossoms and branches themselves. The painting encapsulates perfectly the loving eye that Vincent turned on the simplest elements of our world.
It's the perfect painting for both a child and an adult. As you begin to focus on the foreground, you are suddenly presented with the fact that the background, too, is alive. Everything is connected -- the blossoms and the trees and the sky itself. I can't imagine a better gift and more invaluable lesson to leave for a child as it grew up, and it's so fortunate that as a grown up I was finally able to discover some of this painting's lessons for myself. Thank you once again, Vincent.
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