Flowering plum by Vincent Van Gogh

Throughout his creative life, Van Gogh was interested in Japanese art. Back in Holland, he read books about Japanese engraving. In Antwerp, he purchases several such engravings and places them in his atelier. Since then, he began to be actively interested in this exotic kind of creativity.

Some time after moving to Paris, Van Gogh already had a rather large collection of prints. Japanese art had a huge impact on the work of Van Gogh. He not only copied engravings, but also imitated Japanese art in his own work. In many ways, this has affected both the unique manner and the perception of nature that make the art of Van Gogh completely unique.

The creation of this painting by Van Gogh was inspired by a series of works by Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige. In his collection there were several works by this artist. Van Gogh depicted a flowering plum garden, placing in the center of the composition a massive trunk of a separate tree.

This approach is traditional in Japanese art, where any part of the depicted landscape can be no less significant than all the vast space. The game of warm and cold tones gives the planar image depth, leading the minor details to the background.