Vase of Peonies and Mock Orange
1872-1877
oil on canvas
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (gift from Sara Lee Corporation)
At first glance, this painting appears to be made up of an endless jumble of short brushstrokes. However, Pissarro actually carefully orchestrated a colour scheme here. The pinkish-red and white hues of the flowers along with the greenish-blue foliage stand out strongly against the wallpaper in the background, dominated by shades of orange enlivened with contrasting blues. In the vase, the opposite is true, with vibrant blue dominating, complemented with touches of orange.
Primarily a landscape painter, Pissarro produced over 1500 works, only 20 of which are still lifes. Vase with Peonies and Mock Orange was likely created in artistic rivalry with his friend and pupil Paul Cézanne, renowned for his numerous still lifes.
- Object number
- s0502S2000
- Dimensions
- 81 x 64 , 98.4 x 81.8 , 11.3
- Provenance
- After the death of the artist on 13 November 1903 his widow, Julie Pissarro; given by Julie Pissarro to Ludovic-Rodolphe Pissarro, 1921; sold by Ludovic-Rodolphe Pissarro to Sam Salz, New York, 1949; sold by Sam Salz to Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, Chicago, January 1951; transferred by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings to The Sara Lee Corporation, Chicago, before 9 September 1990; donated by The Sara Lee Corporation to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 29 May 2000.
- Credits
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (gift from Sara Lee Corporation)
Denver, Denver Art Museum, The Honest Eye: Camile Pissarro's Impressionism
Potsdam, Museum Barberini, The Honest Eye: Camile Pissarro's Impressionism, 14 June-28 September 2025
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vive l'impressionisme! Topstukken uit Nederlandse collecties., 10 October 2024-26 January 2025
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Van Gogh en de Zonnebloemen, 21 June-1 September 2019
Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum, Camille Pissarro. Vater des Impressionismus, 14 October 2014-22 February 2015, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
Arles, Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles, Van Gogh. Coleurs du Nord, couleurs du Sud, 7 April-31 August 2014, no. 16
Barcelona, CaixaForum Barcelona, Pissarro, 15 October 2013-26 January 2014, no. 43
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Pissarro, 4 June-15 September 2013, no. 43
Rimini, Castel Sismondo, Paris. The Marvellous Years. Impressionism versus Salon, 23 October 2010-27 March 2011, no. 51
Nagoya, Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Van Gogh in context, 26 July-25 September 2005, no. 48
Ōsaka, National Museum of Art (Ōsaka), Van Gogh in context, 31 May-18 July 2005, no. 48
Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), Van Gogh in context, 23 March-22 May 2005, no. 48
Tokyo, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Van Gogh and his contemporaries. Van Gogh and flowers. With special focus on his 'Sunflowers', 20 September-14 December 2003
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Monet to Moore : the millennium gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 13 March-28 May 2000, no. 37
Portland (Oregon), Portland Art Museum (Oregon), Monet to Moore : the millennium gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 19 November 1999-25 January 2000, no. 37
Raleigh, North Carolina Museum of Art, Monet to Moore : the millennium gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 10 September-7 November 1999, no. 37
Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, Monet to Moore : the millennium gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 11 June-22 August 1999, no. 37
Singapore, Singapore Museum of Art, Monet to Moore : the millennium gift of Sara Lee Corporation, 1 April-30 May 1999, no. 37
Laren, Singer Museum, Collectie Sara Lee Corporation: Meesters van de moderne kunst, 18 October 1997-15 February 1998
Polk Museum of Art, Modern Masters: The Collection of Sara Lee Corporation, 14 January-12 March 1995
Memphis (Tennessee), Dixon Gallery and Gardens, An Impressionist Legacy: The Collection of the Sara Lee Corporation, 20 January-17 March 1991
Reynolda House Museum of Amercan Art, An Impressionist Legacy: The Collection of the Sara Lee Corporation, 9 September-31 December 1990
New York, Wildenstein, Masterpieces in bloom: A loan exhibition of flower paintings for the benefit of the New York Botanical Garden, 5 April-5 May 1973, no. 46
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection, 1 July-7 September 1971, no. 54
Washington (city), National Gallery of Art, Selections from the Nathan Cummings Collection, 28 June-11 September 1970, no. 4
Lyman Allyn Art Museum, Paintings and sculpture from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Cummings, 19 January-18 February 1968, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
Davenport, Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, Collection of masterpieces, courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Cummings, 21 March-11 April 1965, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
Minneapolis, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Paintings from the Cummings Collection, 14 January-7 March 1965, no. geen catnr. / no cat. no.
Toronto, The Art Gallery of Toronto, The Nathan Cummings Collection : 19th & 20th Century French Painting, 9 September-16 October 1955, no. 15
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, La Vie Silencieuse, 1946, no. 52
Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Fleurs et natures mortes. Ecole contemporaine., 5-19 December 1931, no. 46
The honest eye: Camile Pissarro's impressionism, Potsdam, 2025, p. 83, 91, 244