Later this month, Tate Britain will host its first Van Gogh exhibition since 1947. Here we've rounded up 4 of his best paintings before the show.
Potato Eaters
Potato Eaters was Van Gogh's first major work and, despite a distinct lack of colour, it was one that he was most proud of. His aim was to represent the difficulties of country life, so the farmers are painted in earthy tones with rough faces and bony hands. He was more concerned with conveying his message than achieving technical perfection in this painting.
Irises
Van Gogh finished almost 142 pieces during his stay in the Saint Remy de Provence asylum (精神病院), where he was a voluntary patient from 1889 to 1890. This piece was started shortly after he arrived there. The hospital garden provided much inspiration for the artist during his stay there. Originally, the flowers in this work were painted purple but the red pigment (色素) faded over time and has now turned blue.
Cafe Terrace at Night
Despite being painted more than 130 years ago, this cafe still exists in France and has since been renamed the Cafe Van Gogh. This artwork marks the first time Van Gogh's famous post-impressionistic star-filled sky was seen in a piece, and it was painted on the ground, in person, rather than from memory. While the artwork doesn't bear his signature, it's widely known to be Van Gogh's, as he mentioned Cafe Terrace at Night in a number of his letters.
Wheat Field With Cypresses
This piece was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's asylum window and was finished on the spot. The work was the title of three paintings that offer an insight into his stay at the hospital.' Van Gogh was 80 pleased with the summer landscape that he made three copies there, one of the same size—which hangs in the National Gallery and two smaller copies which he planned to gift to his mother and sister.
