Van Gogh's Tree Roots: his final work?
A documented investigation of Tree Roots: July 27, 1890, location identified in 2020, composition, colors, and status as probable final work.
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Auvers-sur-Oise · July 27, 1890 · investigation
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Sources
FAQ
Seventy Days in AuversA highly productive period, not a long march toward a single funereal image
Vincent van Gogh arrives in Auvers-sur-Oise on 20 May 1890 after his stay in Saint-Rémy. He finds a village close to Paris, Dr. Paul Gachet, thatched-roof houses, gardens, fields and, above all, the possibility of working outdoors. In a little over two months, he paints with remarkable intensity. His elongated canvases, his portraits and his landscapes show very different states: calm, construction, movement, light, sometimes fatigue, but no simple progression toward a "last cry."
A note on method:
'Probable last work' does not mean that every color is a coded message about death. Dating can be solid without automatically implying a psychological interpretation.
A precise account
Andries Bonger mentions an 'undergrowth' painted on the morning of July 27, a description consistent with this canvas.
An unfinished work
The lower left portion reveals an execution not carried to the same degree as the center.
03
An identifiable place
An old postcard and the current state of the embankment enabled a convincing topographical comparison.What we know, what we inferWhy Tree Roots replaced Wheatfield with Crows in the narrative of the last paintingTheWheatfield with Crows
| has long held this place in the collective imagination: a dark sky, diverging paths, and black birds seemed to form a perfect conclusion. The chronology of the Auvers works is in fact less theatrical. Several paintings were made after this field, and the evidence related to | Tree Roots | are more direct. | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it establishes | Limit to preserve | Confidence level | Andries Bonger's account |
| Vincent had painted an "undergrowth" on the morning of 27 July 1890. | The modern title of the work is not mentioned in this wording. | Strong when combined with the subject. | Unfinished appearance |
| The lower left has not received the same degree of finish. | Van Gogh could deliberately leave reserves or open areas. | Supporting clue, not standalone proof. | Old postcard |
| The profile of the embankment, the roots and the trunks match the painted motif. | The comparison requires expertise in the terrain and vegetation. | Location deemed “highly plausible” in 2020. | Distance from the inn |
| The site on rue Daubigny was quickly accessible on foot. | Proximity alone does not date the painting session. | Consistent with working habits. | Wheatfield with Crows |
A late and major work from Auvers.
Its dramatic atmosphere does not prove it was the last one.
Read before interpreting
A landscape that at first resembles a network of colors
The format, nearly twice as wide as it is tall, removes the sky and transforms the embankment into a continuous visual field.
The subject emerges after the painting
suppressed horizon
cut forms
an almost abstract reading
A postcard restored the painting's embankment on rue Daubigny
During the 2020 lockdown, Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute, noticed in an old postcard an embankment covered with roots whose pattern strongly resembles the painting. The comparison was then studied with Louis van Tilborgh and Teio Meedendorp of the Van Gogh Museum, along with dendrologist Bert Maes.
An old view of rue Daubigny
The postcard preserves the profile of the embankment, the coppiced trunks and configurations of roots visible before modern transformations.
The visual comparison
The shapes are overlaid and compared to the painting: slope, rocky elements, placement of the trunks and main lines show strong correspondences.
Public announcement
The Van Gogh Museum announces that the identification of the place is “highly plausible,” a cautious formulation that respects the nature of the investigation.
Today
A motif still legibleThe site, located near the Auberge Ravoux, retains part of its structure. It helps to understand how much Van Gogh reframed and intensified a real place.
The interest of the discovery lies not in turning the embankment into a relic, but in showing that the strangeness of the painting arises from a very concrete observation.
Critical reading based on research from the Van Gogh Museum
The
Daubigny Gardenshows another path of Auvers: open space, horizontal rhythm, and light colors.A different intensity from the other Auvers paintings
The field gives a horizon and the garden offers architectural landmarks.
Tree roots
refuses these supports. Its strength comes from proximity, entanglement and repetition. For a reproduction, the shades of blue, the separation of greens and the density of ochre are therefore more important than spectacular saturation.
Neither diagnosis nor automatic testament
Six shortcuts that distort Tree Roots
Read each root as a symbol
Van Gogh had already drawn gnarled roots in 1882. The motif also belongs to his lasting observation of nature.
Confusing the last with the testament
A final work can remain a landscape study; its chronological position does not turn every form into a premeditated farewell.
Making the Wheat Field with Crows a proof
The dramatic atmosphere of the painting fed the myth, but it does not constitute a dating.
Calling the painting abstract
The reading may seem abstract, yet the observed motif and the likely place are quite real.
Saturating the colors
An overly vivid reproduction flattens the whites, earth tones, and transitions that make the roots legible.
06
Recompose the double square
Width is an essential element of the composition; cropping radically changes the movement of the work.
Compare Tree Roots with the other faces of Auvers
These works let you choose between tangled vegetation, the grand landscape, the garden, and the portrait. The links lead directly to the active products in the shop.
Central work · July 1890The most graphic and densest choice. Best on a calm horizontal wall, with enough distance for the motif to reconstruct itself.
View the artwork →
Late landscape · AuversMore immediately narrative thanks to the sky, paths, and birds. Its blue-yellow contrast creates a powerful focal point.
View the artwork →
Garden · structured calm
A more breathable Auvers landscape, carried by the flowers, the houses and a looser horizontal movement.
View the work →
Portrait · human presence
The bowed head, the red table, and the blue suit lend a more intimate presence, suited to an office or a library.
See the painting →
Auvers · inhabited natureThe Garden of Dr. Gachet
A brighter solution that preserves Van Gogh's nervous brushstrokes without the almost abstract density of the roots.
View the artwork →
Six major collections from the shop
Stock levels were verified in the active catalog on July 14, 2026.
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Four primary and institutional sources
These documents verify the dating, location, Auvers chronology, and Van Gogh's own words without relying on a repeated legend.Van Gogh Museum · AuversExhibition texts
Chronology of the last works and identification ofTree Roots
on the morning of July 27.
Van Gogh Museum · 2020Annual Report
Presentation of the highly plausible identification of the location from the postcard.
10 July 1890 · letter 898Letter to Theo and Jo
Van Gogh describes his life as 'attacked at the root', then explains that he has resumed work on three large canvases.
23 July 1890 · letter 902
Last letter sent
An essential document for placing the final days in their family, material, and artistic context.
Ten precise answers
Frequently asked questions about Van Gogh's Tree Roots
Is Tree Roots really Van Gogh's last painting?
The Van Gogh Museum considers it the most likely candidate. An account mentions an undergrowth painted on the morning of July 27, 1890, and the subject matches the canvas, which was left partially unfinished.
Why was Wheatfield with Crows long considered the last?
Its dark sky, paths, and birds have created a very powerful biographical conclusion. This visual interpretation has often taken precedence over the actual chronology of the Auvers paintings.
When did Van Gogh paint Tree Roots?
The work is dated July 1890 and, according to the reconstruction presented by the museum, probably from the morning of July 27.
Where was the painting made?
On a wooded embankment on rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise, a short distance from the Auberge Ravoux. The site was identified in a highly plausible way in 2020.
How was the location found?
Wouter van der Veen matched an old postcard with the painting. Specialists from the Van Gogh Museum and a dendrologist then compared the terrain profile, the trunks, and the roots.
Is the painting unfinished?
Some areas, particularly in the lower left, appear less finished. This condition supports the hypothesis of a final interrupted sitting, though on its own it is not enough to date the work.
Is Tree Roots an abstract painting?
No: it depicts a real motif. Its tight framing, cropped forms, and colorful network nevertheless produce an almost abstract reading.
What are the dimensions of the original?
The oil on canvas measures 50.3 × 100.1 cm. This very horizontal ratio is essential to the composition.
Where to see the original?
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