Flowerpot with Garlic Chives
Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Paris, January-February 1887
oil on canvas,
31.9 cm x 22.0 cm
Credits (obliged to state): Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
This simple still life of a pot of chives has a decorative pattern in the background. It is unclear exactly what Van Gogh was painting – maybe wallpaper or part of an Oriental carpet. The symmetry of the composition is broken by the chive stems on the right, next to the pot.
Ordinary chives have round, hollow leaves; these garlic chives have flat ones with pointed ends.