
Van Gogh painted this painting in the grounds of an asylum in Saint-Remy, where he had committed himself after the breakdown that cost him his ear.
He was allowed to work outdoors, and the landscape - with its rolling hills, swirling skies, and above all the cypresses - captivated him.
He wrote to his brother Theo: 'The cypresses are always occupying my thoughts... they are as beautiful of line and proportion as an Egyptian obelisk.'
He made at least three large versions of this landscape - a nearly identical version is at the National Gallery in London.

The brushwork is striking - and has come to epitomise Van Gogh's style.
The sky moves, with great swirling currents of blue and white.
The wheat bends. The cypress spirals upward.
Everything is alive, dynamic and unstable - representing the world as Van Gogh experienced it.

The painting was purchased by the Met for $57 million in 1993 - a record for a Van Gogh in the USA at the time.

★ End of walk
That's it for our tour of the Met, we hope you enjoyed it! Please share it with art lovers you think might be interested and let us know what you think in the comments below. If you're up for another adventure, how about exploring the MoMa?
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