The Poet’s Garden, Vincent van Gogh

The Poet’s Garden, Vincent van Gogh (1888)

The Poet's Garden is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. It was painted when Van Gogh was living in France, shortly after he left Paris for the town of Arles. The more natural and colourful setting of southern France gave Van Gogh ideas for more landscape paintings, and he turned to an impressionist style from 1886 onwards.

Here, he depicts a garden that is, according to the title of the work, that of a poet. The importance of the art of poetry for Van Gogh is notable. One might even say that it was an important art form for the Van Goghs, as Vincent exchanged poetic messages with his brother Theo throughout his life, via letters. This epistolary relationship was discovered posthumously by his sister, who did not hesitate to make them public so that everyone could appreciate Vincent Van Gogh's poetic talents.