The Poet's Garden

A garden spreads out in thick greens, yellows, and whites, filled with a flowering meadow, trees in bloom, and the drooping shapes of weeping willows, all set beneath a soft pale yellow sky. The scene feels enclosed and gentle, as if the plants themselves are leaning into the light above them. This piece was painted in 1888 in oil on canvas, and it is held at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was made by Vincent van Gogh, whose work is tied to the Post-Impressionist movement. One detail worth lingering on is the way the willows bend low among the brighter blossoms, their dark, curving forms standing out against the pale wash of sky and the dense tangle of color filling the rest of the garden.