Олеандры

Van Gogh painted these oleanders in Arles in August 1888, the same hopeful summer he was filling canvases with sunflowers. For him oleanders were joyful, almost healthy flowers, blooming without stopping and always throwing out new shoots, and he said as much in letters to his brother Theo. He set them in a plain majolica jug he used again and again that year. Next to the vase lies a book, Emile Zola's novel La Joie de vivre, The Joy of Living, laid open on the table. Van Gogh loved Zola and clearly meant the pairing, overflowing flowers beside a title about the joy of being alive. The green table, the pink blooms and the pale yellow wall are keyed to sit together in a warm, calm harmony.