Irises (painting)

Irises
Original title, in French: Les Iris

Artist	Vincent van Gogh
Year	May 1889
Catalogue	F608
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	71 cm × 93 cm (28 in × 36 ⁵⁄₈ in)
Location	J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California

Irises is one of several painitngs of irises by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, and one of a series of paintings he executed at the Saint Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in the last year before his death in 1890.

Van Gogh started painting Irises within a week of entering the asylum, in May 1889, working from nature in the hospital garden. There is a lack of the high tension which is seen in his later works. He called painting "the lightning conductor for my illness" because he felt that he could keep himself from going insane by continuing to paint.

The painting was probably influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints like many of his works and those by other artists of the time. The similarities occur with strong outlines, unusual angles, including close-up views, and also flattish local colour (not modelled according to the fall of light).

He considered this painting a study which is probably why there are no known drawings for it,^[1] although Theo, Van Gogh's brother, thought better of it and quickly submitted it to the annual exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in September 1889, together with Starry Night Over the Rhone. He wrote to Vincent of the exhibition: "[It] strikes the eye from afar. The Irises are a beautiful study full of air and life."

Ownership history

The first owner was Julien "Père" Tanguy, a paint grinder and art dealer whose portrait van Gogh painted three times. In 1892 Tanguy sold Irises to art critic and anarchist Octave Mirbeau who was also one of Van Gogh's first supporters.^[2] Mirbeau paid 300 francs for it.

In 1987, it became the most expensive painting ever sold, setting a record which stood for two and a half years.^[3] Then it was sold for US$53.9 million to Alan Bond, but Bond did not have enough money to pay for it.^[4] Irises was later re-sold in 1990 to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.^[5]^[6] Irises is currently (as of 2012) tenth on the inflation-adjusted list of most expensive paintings ever sold and in 25th place if the effects of inflation are ignored.

References

↑ "Irises" J. Paul Getty Museum. Retrieved June 5, 2011
↑ "Irises". J. P. Getty Museum.
↑ Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold for $82.5 million on May 15, 1990, at Christie's, New York
↑ "History for November 11". On-This-Day.com. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
↑ Kimmelman, Michael. Getty buys van Gogh "Irises," but won't tell price. New York Times, March 22, 1990. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
↑ "Irises (van Gogh) - Check123, Video Encyclopedia". Check123 - Video Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-08-20.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irises by Vincent van Gogh (Saint-Rémy, 1889).

Van Gogh, paintings and drawings: a special loan exhibition, a fully digitized exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on this painting (see index)

Vincent van Gogh

General	Biography Chronology Health Death Posthumous fame Cultural depictions List of works Post-Impressionism Auberge Ravoux Café du Tambourin The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

Family	Theo van Gogh Wil van Gogh Johanna van Gogh-Bonger Andries Bonger Theo van Gogh (film director) Anton Mauve Johannes Stricker

Friends	Anthon van Rappard Paul Gachet Paul Gauguin Émile Bernard John Peter Russell Eugène Boch Anna Boch Agostina Segatori

Groups of works	Self portraits Portraits Early works Lost early works Sien Peasant Character Studies Cottages Van Gogh's family in his art Montmartre Le Moulin de la Galette Asnières Seine Wheat Fields Flowering Orchards Almond Blossoms Langlois Bridge at Arles Saintes-Maries Paintings of Children Décoration for the Yellow House The Roulin Family Hospital in Arles Butterflies Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy The Enclosed Wheat Field at Saint-Rémy Trees and Undergrowth Copies by Vincent van Gogh Olive Trees Display at Les XX, 1890 Auvers size 30 canvases Auvers Double-squares and Squares Japonaiserie Sunflowers Still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh (Netherlands) Still life paintings by Vincent van Gogh (Paris) Meadows near Rijswijk and the Schenkweg Houses at Auvers

Paintings	The 'Laakmolen' near The Hague Girl in White in the Woods Lying Cow Farmhouses Among Trees Bulb Fields Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam Old Church Tower at Nuenen Cart with Black Ox Cart with Red and White Ox Avenue of Poplars in Autumn Still Life with Straw Hat The Potato Eaters Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette Poppy Flowers Wheat Field with a Lark View of Paris from Vincent's Room in the Rue Lepic Portrait of Père Tanguy A Woman Walking in a Garden Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin Landscape with Snow La Mousmé The Night Café The Yellow House Cafe Terrace at Night Starry Night Over the Rhone Portrait of the Artist's Mother Bedroom in Arles Falling Autumn Leaves L'Arlésienne The Red Vineyard Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) Les Arènes Interior of a Restaurant in Arles A Lane near Arles View of Arles, Flowering Orchards Arles: View from the Wheat Fields Sunset at Montmajour Crab on its Back Two Crabs Irises The Starry Night Self-portrait (1889) A Meadow in the Mountains: Le Mas de Saint-Paul Enclosed Field with Peasant Green Wheat Field with Cypress Ivy Farmhouse in Provence Road with Cypress and Star At Eternity's Gate Thatched Cottages and Houses Portrait of Dr. Gachet Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers Houses at Auvers White House at Night Girl in White The Church at Auvers Daubigny's Garden Farms near Auvers Blossoming Chestnut Branches View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy Wheatfield with Crows Tree Roots Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses

Other works	Drawings, water-colours and prints 87 Hackford Road Sorrow Marsh with Water Lilies Torso of Venus and a Landscape

Public collections	Van Gogh Museum Kröller-Müller Museum Musée d'Orsay

Portrayals	Lust for Life (novel film) Van Gogh (1948 film) Vincent (1987 film) Vincent & Theo (1990 film) Vincent (1990 opera) Van Gogh (1991 film) Vincent in Brixton (2003 play) "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010 TV episode) Van Gogh (2017 film)

Cataloguers	Jacob Baart de la Faille (1928 and 1970; "F") Jan Hulsker (1978, revised 1989; "JH")

Authority control	BNF: cb148682731 (data)

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