光秃的桦树

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), 纽恩南, 1884年3月

纸上铅笔，钢笔，墨水及水彩, 39.5 cm x 54.2 cm
Credits: 凡高美术馆，阿姆斯特丹（文森特·凡高基金会）

Van Gogh loved pollard trees with their gnarled trunks. They feature prominently in many of his paintings and drawings, including this one. In a letter to his brother Theo, he compared a row of pollard trees to a 'procession of orphan men'. What he meant was that nature had a soul of its own.

This work is part of a series of seven pen and ink drawings of Brabant landscapes from 1884. The compositions are compelling. The way he drew it, with a great deal of hatching, shows his individual style. The drawings form a high point of Van Gogh's work in the Netherlands.