Olive Grove
Currently on view
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, November-December 1889
oil on canvas, 73.2 cm x 92.2 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
The olive groves around Saint-Rémy were a rewarding subject for Van Gogh. He was fascinated by the ever-changing colour of the olive trees and tried to find a good way of painting their irregular growth. His solution was to use swirling brushstrokes, bold outlines around the trunks and stylized blue shadows.
Van Gogh made his paintings of olive groves just after his friends Paul Gauguin and Émile Bernard had painted a number of religious scenes. They created those works from their imaginations. Van Gogh disagreed with that approach. He felt that reality should always be the starting point: 'My ambition is truly limited to a few clods of earth, some sprouting wheat. An olive grove,' he wrote to Bernard.
- F-number
- F0707
- JH-number
- JH1857
- Object number
- s0045V1962
- Dimensions
- 73.2 cm x 92.2 cm, 88.9 cm x 108.1 cm
- Provenance
- Sent by the artist from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence to his brother Theo van Gogh, Paris, at the beginning of January 1890; after his death on 25 January 1891, inherited by his widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, and their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, Paris; administered until her death on 2 September 1925 by Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Bussum/Amsterdam/Laren; given on loan by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, from 1927 to 1930; given on loan by Vincent Willem van Gogh to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, since 22 October 1931; transferred by Vincent Willem van Gogh, Laren, on 10 July 1962 to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam (ratified 28 December 1970); agreement concluded between the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and the State of the Netherlands, in which the preservation and management of the collection, and its placing in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, to be realized in Amsterdam, is entrusted to the State, 21 July 1962; given on loan until the opening of the museum on 2 June 1973 to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh from 2 June 1973 and at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, since 1 July 1994.
- artist
- Vincent van Gogh
- Credits (obliged to state)
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Van Gogh and the Olive Groves, 25 June-18 September 2022
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Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Munch : Van Gogh, 24 September 2015-17 January 2016
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Kyoto, National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto), Vincent van Gogh and Japan, 18 February-29 March 1992
Glasgow, Burrell Collection, The Age of Van Gogh. Dutch Painting 1880-1895, 10 November 1990-10 February 1991
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh. Schilderijen, 30 March-29 July 1990, no. 108
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Van Gogh in St. Rémy and Auvers, 12 November 1986-22 March 1987, no. 43
Tokyo, Seibu Museum of Art, 100 years of Dutch painting : highlights from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 29 March-13 May 1986
Amagasaki, Tsukashin Hall, 100 years of Dutch painting : highlights from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 21 February-23 March 1986
Shimonoseki, Shimonoseki City Art Museum, 100 years of Dutch painting : highlights from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 4 January-11 February 1986
Iwaki, Iwaki City Art Museum, 100 years of Dutch painting : highlights from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 16 November-22 December 1985
Niigata, Niigata City Art Museum, 100 years of Dutch painting : highlights from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 13 October-10 November 1985
Nagoya, Aichi Prefectural Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh exhibition, 24 February-14 March 1977
Kyoto, National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto), Vincent van Gogh exhibition, 6 January-20 February 1977
Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo), Vincent van Gogh exhibition, 30 October-19 December 1976
Bern, Kunstmuseum Bern, Vincent van Gogh. Collection du Musée National Vincent van Gogh à Amsterdam, 25 January-15 April 1973, no. 38
Strasbourg, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain Strasbourg, Vincent van Gogh. Collection du Musée National Vincent van Gogh à Amsterdam, 22 October 1972-15 January 1973
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Weltkulturen und moderne Kunst, 16 June-30 September 1972
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San Francisco, M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 11 December 1970-31 January 1971, no. 57
Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 11 October-29 November 1970, no. 57
Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings and Drawings, 28 February-5 April 1970
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Ostend, Musée des beaux-arts (Oostende), Europa 1900, 3 June-30 September 1967, no. 401
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Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Vincent van Gogh. Målningar, akvareller, teckningar, 23 October-19 December 1965, no. 46
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Leiden, Museum De Lakenhal, Vincent van Gogh, 9 November-16 December 1957
Fries Museum, Vincent van Gogh uit de collectie Ir. V.W. van Gogh, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 14 April-13 May 1956
Newcastle upon Tyne, Laing Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 11 February-24 March 1956, no. 69
Manchester (England), Manchester City Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 17 December 1955-4 February 1956, no. 69
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh. Paintings & Drawings, Mainly from the Collection of Ir. V.W. van Gogh, 29 October-10 December 1955, no. 69
Antwerp, Zaal Comité voor Artistieke Werking, Vincent van Gogh, 7 May-19 June 1955, no. 301
Bern, Kunstmuseum Bern, Vincent van Gogh, 27 November 1954-30 January 1955, no. 59
Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Vincent van Gogh, 9 October-21 November 1954, no. 61
Assen, Provinciehuis, Vincent van Gogh in Assen, 7-29 November 1953
IJmuiden, Hoogovens, restaurant Walserij Oost, Vincent van Gogh. Exposition in the canteens of the Royal Netherlands Blast Furnaces and Steelworks, 2-12 October 1953
Hoensbroek, Kasteel Hoensbroek, Vincent van Gogh, 23 May-27 July 1953
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Eindhoven, Van Abbemuseum, Vincent van Gogh, 22 March-4 May 1952
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Hôtel de Sade, Vincent van Gogh en Provence, 5-27 May 1951, no. 63
Grenoble, Musée de Grenoble, Vincent van Gogh, 30 March-2 May 1951
Lyon, Musée de Lyon, Vincent van Gogh, 5 February-27 March 1951, no. 63
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Birmingham (England), City Art Gallery, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890. An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 24 January-14 February 1948, no. 73
London, Tate Gallery, Vincent van Gogh 1853-1890. An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, 10 December 1947-14 January 1948, no. 73
Groningen, Museum van Oudheden, Vincent van Gogh, 18 October-16 November 1947
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Basel, Kunsthalle Basel, Vincent van Gogh, 27 March-4 May 1924, no. 44
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Painted outdoors or indoors?
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Let's take a moment to just be with Vincent van Gogh's painting ‘Olive Grove’ in a 7-minute meditation.
