Les Alpilles, Mountain Landscape near South-Reme 1889

Vincent van Gogh painted ‘Les Alpilles, Mountain Landscape near South-Reme’ with oil on canvas, and it’s now housed at the Kröller-Müller Museum. The painting is defined by dynamic brushstrokes and a non-naturalistic color palette. Note how the mountains loom imposingly, rendered in swirling blues and whites, which contrasts with the patchwork fields below in ochres and greens. The composition eschews traditional perspective, creating a flattened, almost abstract effect. Van Gogh's use of impasto—thickly applied paint—adds a tactile quality, further animating the scene. This technique reflects a shift away from representational accuracy toward expressing emotional and psychological states. The formal qualities of 'Les Alpilles' reveal a move towards subjective experience and the artist's personal vision. Rather than mirroring the external world, Van Gogh constructs a landscape charged with his own emotional energy, inviting us to consider how perception shapes reality. This challenges traditional notions of landscape painting and invites us to engage with the world in a new way.