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We are in front of Vincent Van Gogh's Undergrowth.
This image of what Van Gogh described as a close up view of tree trunks
and ground covered with ivy and periwinkle,
was painted in the grounds of the hospital at St Remy de Provence
to which Van Gogh had admitted himself in May 1889, fearing another mental breakdown.
Over the course of the next year he painted some one hundred and fifty canvases in this place
and Undergrowth is one of four paintings of this motif
painted in the same garden while he was not permitted to leave the sanatorium grounds.
Undergrowth brings to mind the artist's comparison between the grasp of ivy on the oak
and the grip of mental illness on himself.
Yet there are glimpses of sunlight between the shadows
perhaps suggesting his hopes of better health.
As shafts of shimmering sunlight filter between the ivy-clad trees
and its view to a luminous area of sunlight in the background
reveals Van Gogh's fascination with the earlier traditions of French landscape painting,
particularly the so-called Barbizon School which focussed on exploring the landscape.
Van Gogh's evident delight in the subtlety of colours in the foliage and the vigour of its growth
rendered in energetic tactile dabs of thick paint
as well as impastoed, which means wet layers of paint, make the picture extremely engaging.
Van Gogh achieved the effect of intense colour vibration
using short broken brushstrokes of pure and mixed colour,
not smoothly blended or shaded as was customary before the arrival of the Impressionists.
His aim was to recreate the sensation in the eye that views the subject rather than recreating the subject.
Using rapid thick strokes of paint Van Gogh, similarly to his Impressionist colleagues,
hoped to capture the essense of the subject, not its details.
This painting is very evocative of the darker and lighter patches one moves through
walking in a wood or forest.
Van Gogh has managed to create lovely patches of light under the trees
and allowing one to see the ivy relentlessly climbing up the tree trunks,
adding weight to the trees and taking some of their precious moisture and nutrition from the soil.
There appears to be periwinkle growing amongst the ivy too but it will struggle to flower.
However, as one peers through to the brighter area of the picture where there are less trees to shade,
where there is a chance for grasses, mosses, ferns and wild uncultivated flowers to flourish,
the combination will give food and shelter to wildlife and hopefully will help to inspire the recovery of Van Gogh.
Shaded conditions create big problems for gardeners and garden designers alike.
Most plants like good light, adequate water and food, not what shade gives.