First exhibited Werken van Vincent van Gogh, Haagse Kunstkring [Buitenhof], The Hague, 16 May - 6 June 1892, 89 nrs [45]
备注
Catalogues raisonnés:
F671: Faille, Jacob Baart de la (1970年) [1928年] 《 The Works of Vincent van Gogh. His Paintings and Drawings》、阿姆斯特丹: J.M. Meulenhoff、671 號 .
JH1891 : Jan Hulsker (1980), The Complete Van Gogh, Oxford: Phaidon, 號 1891.
For an overview of this painting see the Wikipedia article Almond Blossoms.
The painting was made to celebrate the birth of Vincent's nephew (and namesake) Vincent Willem van Gogh(1890-1978). It can be dated exactly from the letters as begun between 1 February and 20 February and completed before 29 April when he delivered the painting to his brother Theo. This period coincided with the period of his worst collapse when for a period of more than a month he was "struck down like a brute", unable to work or even to write letters.
Hulsker describes the painting as unique in Vincent's ouevre both for its subject and composition (p. 439).
Letter 855:To Anna van Gogh-Carbentus. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 19 February 1890. Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. "I’d much rather that he’d called his boy after Pa, whom I’ve thought about so often these days, than after me, but anyway, as it’s been done now I started right away to make a painting for him, to hang in their bedroom. Large branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky."
Letter 856:To Willemien van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Wednesday, 19 February 1890. Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. "But anyway, the result is that the child’s here – and as I wrote to his grandmother, I’ve started painting for him these last few days – a large sky-blue canvas against which branches covered in blossoms stand out. Possible that I may see him soon – I hope so at least – towards the end of March. I’m going to try to go to Arles once more tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to see if I can bear the journey and ordinary life without the attacks recurring."
Letter 857: To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, on or about Monday, 17 March 1890. Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. "Work was going well, the last canvas of the branches in blossom, you’ll see that it was perhaps the most patiently worked, best thing I had done, painted with calm and a greater sureness of touch. And the next day done for like a brute [Et le lendemain fichu comme une brute]."
Letter 863:To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Tuesday, 29 April 1890. Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. "I fell ill at the time I was doing the almond-tree blossoms. If I’d been able to continue working, you can judge from that that I would have done others of the trees in blossom. Now the trees in blossom are almost finished, really I have no luck."