The white orchard 1888

Vincent van Gogh painted this orchard scene with oil on canvas during his time in France. His decision to focus on an orchard is significant, because such scenes were popular with collectors at the time. He was attempting to make a name for himself in the Parisian art world and get picked up by a dealer. Van Gogh often chose subjects that were deemed marketable. Although he wasn’t able to make a living selling his art, the paintings he made were experiments in appealing to the contemporary art market. His letters to his brother Theo reveal just how concerned he was with the politics of the art world and how difficult it was to get his foot in the door. To understand Van Gogh, we need to research not only the development of his painting style but also the economic and social conditions of the art world in Paris.