Arles · March 30, 1888 · F 394 /JH 1379
The Pink Peach: Van Gogh paints spring despite the mistral
Two flowering peach trees, lilac soil, a reed fence and an almost new blue sky. In this landscape painted outside, Van Gogh captures a brief flowering then transforms the canvas into a tribute to Anton Mauve.
Direct response
A real spring, a constructed color, a tribute decided after the fact
Van Gogh painted it Pink peach march 30, 1888, a few weeks after his arrival in Arles. He works directly in an orchard: the earth is turned over, a reed fence crosses the space, two flowering trees stand out in front of a blue and white sky. The composition is not a Japanese garden fantasy, even if its framing and flat areas owe a lot to the prints that the artist collects.
In the evening, Vincent receives from his sister Wil a notice announcing the death of the painter Anton Mauve, which occurred on February 5. Mauve had been his relative by marriage, his first serious guide in painting and watercolor, then an interlocutor with whom relations had become strained. Van Gogh then wrote "Souvenir de Mauve" on the canvas and decided to offer it to the painter's widow, Jet Mauve.
The title "despite the mistral" summarizes the broader context of the orchard countryside. The letters describe changing and often windy weather, while hedges and cypresses protect crops. However, there is no document to confirm that the mistral blew exactly during the session of March 30. However, there is no document to confirm that the mistral blew exactly during the session of March 30. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the mistral blew exactly during the session of March 30. The urgency comes mainly from the flowering itself: Van Gogh knows that this spectacle will not last.
Watch before interpreting
Four decisions that make the painting immediately alive
The subject appears calm, but the surface is very active. Van Gogh organizes the depth with color oppositions, key directions and a few simple lines.
Pink is not decorative
The very light flowers vibrate against the blue of the sky. Their warmth depends on this cold neighborhood: pink exists by contrast.
The earth rises
The high viewpoint gives plenty of room to the lilac ground. The oblique furrows lead the gaze towards the trees without constructing an academic perspective.
Fence holds space
The network of reeds forms an irregular horizontal. It separates sky and field while recalling the agricultural reality of the orchard.
The sky remains mobile
Blues, whites and small pink touches prevent the background from becoming flat. The sky sparkles around the branches rather than enclosing them.
Painted on March 30, autographed then reserved for Jet Mauve. The blue and white sky surrounds two peach trees in front of the reed fence.
Resumed in April in a higher format. It becomes the central panel of the triptych drawn in the letter of April 13.
Original and repetition
Van Gogh starts the pattern again, but does not copy it mechanically
On April 13, Vincent explained to Theo that he was working on two rehearsals. That of the peach tree gives him "the most trouble". The reason is concrete: the work F 394 must go to Jet Mauve, while Theo will receive a version of the same subject.
The second canvas retains the central trunk, the pink flowers and the cultivated land, but the comparison reveals a new balance. The tree unfolds differently, the fence becomes less insistent and the mass of the sky changes. In Van Gogh, repeating means solving the picture again, not tracing a formula.
This practice announces the revivals of Arles and Saint-Rémy: two versions of the same pattern can share an architecture while differing in touch, intensity and drawing of lines.
"The pink peach tree gives me the most trouble."Letter to Theo, circa April 13, 1888 · adapted French translation
A dedication in painting
Why did Van Gogh write "Souvenir de Mauve"?
Anton Mauve, a figure at the Hague School, welcomed Vincent into his studio in 1881. He taught him how to use watercolor, encouraged him to work from a model and lent him equipment. Mauve is also married to Ariëtte Carbentus, known as Jet, a cousin of Van Gogh's mother.
Their relationship deteriorates when Mauve disapproves of Vincent's life with Sien Hoornik. This rupture does not, however, erase the artistic debt. As the funeral notice arrives in Arles, the peach tree in bloom offers an image of renewal and clarity. The dedication therefore transforms an already completed landscape into a private memorial.
This choice is not a literal illustration of death. Rather, it brings together two ideas: the transmission from one painter to another and the fragility of a flowering captured just before it disappears.
Think about the paintings together
The orchard triptych: pale pink, pink peach tree, white orchard
In a letter dated April 13, Van Gogh drew three paintings side by side. The F 404 version of the peach tree occupies the center; the two horizontals balance its verticality.
The Pink Orchard
Pale pink apricot trees extend horizontally over green ground. The sky remains high and light.
The Pink Peach Tree
The vertical format acts as an accent. The tree almost becomes a character placed between two landscapes.
The White Orchard
White plum trees stand out on purple and green soil. The dark network of branches responds to the pink panel.
The presence of F 404 in the center explains why it is necessary to distinguish the two pink peach trees. F 394, already intended for Jet Mauve, does not seem to be the panel provided for in this hanging.
Wind as a working condition
What does "despite the mistral" really mean?
The mistral is not visible as a spectacular gust in the Pink peach. It belongs to the territory and practice of the painter. The letters from Arles evoke unstable weather, windy days and the difficulty of working outside. In a description addressed to Émile Bernard, Van Gogh even notices the cypresses planted in protection "against the mistral" around a Provençal orchard.
Outdoor painting then requires rapid organization: transporting the easel, canvas and colors, immobilizing the material, choosing a pattern before the light changes. Flowering imposes another urgency. A series cannot be postponed for several weeks: the petals fall, the greens appear and the landscape is transformed.
The vigor of the keys should therefore not be read as an exact weather record. It reflects a work in a hurry but constructed, attentive to the lines of protection, the furrows and the contrasts which give the orchard its structure.
Documented fact
The weather in Arles is often changeable and windy in the letters of spring 1888.
Agricultural observation
Hedges, fences and cypresses protect crops against the prevailing wind.
Historical precaution
We do not know the strength of the wind during the specific session of March 30.
A campaign of fourteen paintings
The other orchards of Arles to look at with the Pink Peach Tree
Between the end of March and the end of April 1888, Van Gogh multiplied formats, tree species and touch solutions. None of these tables are used twice on this page.
Small pear tree in bloom
A single tree, seen very closely, becomes a clear silhouette. The verticality responds to the central peach tree of the triptych.
The Orchard in bloom
Angular branches, high point of view, sickle and rake: Japonism encounters the discreet trace of human work.
Plum trees in bloom
The whiteness of the flowers is shaped by small touches of color. The soil alternates cold and warm bands.
Peach trees in bloom in La Crau
A year later, flowering opens onto a larger space. The Alpilles close the horizon and the field becomes a carpet of green touches.
Documents put tables back in order
From March 30 to May 28, 1888: five verifiable steps
The painting goes back to the workshop
Vincent describes to Theo the lilac soil, the reed fence and the two peach trees in front of the blue and white sky.
Mauve's short story
He receives the funeral notice sent by his sister and decides to reserve the painting for Jet Mauve.
Series's expanding
Van Gogh mentions a new orchard of pale pink apricot trees and yellow-white plum trees.
The triptych
A letter to Theo shows three orchards side by side and confirms work on the F 404 repeat.
Two distinguished peach trees
The list of works sent allows you to separate "Souvenir de Mauve" from the other version of the peach tree.
Just see, just reproduce
How to recognize and choose a reproduction of the Pink Peach Tree?
The painting seems delicate, but its range is based on precise contrasts. Good reproduction must maintain this tension without transforming the flowers into candy pink.
| To check | In the original | Frequent error | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| The sky | Light blue modulated with white and pink touches. | A uniform turquoise flat. | The intervals between the branches must remain bright and mobile. |
| The earth | Lilac, purple, green and ocher divided into furrows. | Naturalistic brown soil. | The cold earth is the counterpoint to the flowers and carries all the depth. |
| Flowers | Very pale pink, off-white and warmer accents. | Red or saturated petals. | Flowering should sparkle rather than form a compact mass. |
| The touch | Varied directions, sometimes brief, sometimes linear. | Uniform texture added throughout. | The gesture distinguishes the sky, the earth, the fence and the branches. |
| The signature | The dedication "Souvenir de Mauve" belongs to F 394. | Confusing with F 404. | It identifies the version kept at the Kroeller-Müller Museum. |
Respect verticality
The ratio 73 × 59.5 cm gives momentum to the trunk and lets the sky breathe. Avoid cropping the canvas into a square.
Light wood or matte gold
A sober setting takes up the ochres of the earth without weighing down the flowers. An American cream crate also works very well.
A calm and bright wall
Off-white, gray green or very pale blue support the palette. Leave enough space around the vertical format.
Extend the visit
Explore Van Gogh's landscapes and flowers
The Pink peach is best understood in the middle of the orchards of Arles, but it also dialogues with the Almond Tree in flower, the irises, the fields of Provence and the gardens of Saint-Rémy.
Benchmarks checked
Museum sources and correspondence
Van Gogh Letters · letter 597
The letter of April 13, 1888 documents the repetition of the peach tree and the triptych project drawn by Vincent.
Read the letter →Van Gogh Letters · letter 615
The list of May 28 distinguishes F 394 "Souvenir de Mauve", F 551 and other orchards in Arles.
View the document →Van Gogh Museum · The Pink Orchard
The museum presents the fourteen paintings of fruit trees in flower and the idea of bringing them together in triptychs.
See the instructions →Metropolitan Museum · The Flowering Orchard
Notice of the work, orchard countryside, influence of Japanese prints and presence of agricultural tools.
See the work →Kroeller-Müller Museum
The Otterlo Museum preserves the main painting, one of the major works in its Van Gogh collection.
Visit the museum →Morgan Library · letter to Émile Bernard
The April 12 letter shows Van Gogh absorbed in fruit trees and his observation of Provençal orchards.
See the manuscript →Frequently asked questions
Van Gogh's Pink Peach in nine answers
When did Van Gogh paint The Pink Peach Tree?
The main painting, F 394 /JH 1379, is dated March 30, 1888. Van Gogh then arrived in Arles and began his great campaign of orchards in flower.
Where is Van Gogh's Pink Peach?
The version bearing the dedication "Souvenir de Mauve" is kept at the Kroeller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands.
Why is the painting dedicated to Anton Mauve?
On March 30, Van Gogh received a notice announcing the death of Mauve, his former mentor. He inscribes the dedication on the canvas and decides to offer it to the painter's widow.
Are there two Pink Peach Trees?
Yes. F 394 is the painting dedicated to Mauve. F 404 is a repetition painted for Theo and now kept at the Van Gogh Museum.
Was the mistral blowing during the session?
The letters confirm an often windy spring in Arles and the importance of protection against the mistral, but they do not give the exact weather for the March 30 session.
How many orchards did Van Gogh paint in the spring of 1888?
Records from the Van Gogh Museum and the Metropolitan Museum indicate that he produced fourteen paintings of orchards and fruit trees in bloom in about a month.
What is the role of Japonism in the picture?
The high point of view, the cut branches, the colored areas and the idea of bringing the works together in a triptych testify to his interest in Japanese prints.
What are the dimensions of the table?
The canvas measures approximately 73 cm high by 59.5 cm wide. Its vertical format focuses the eye on the two peach trees.
What other work can be compared to Pink Peach?
Start with The Pink Orchard and The White Orchard, planned around the F 404 repeat, then look Small pear tree in bloom and The Orchard in bloom from the Metropolitan Museum.
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