Van Gogh Japanese Period in France

Travelling to Paris Van Gogh travelled to Paris in March 1886, where he shared his brother’sTheo's Rue Laval apartment on Montmartre, to study at Fernand Cormon’s studio. In June, they took a larger apartment further uphill, at 54 Rue Lepic. As they had no need to write letters to communicate, little is known about this stay in Paris. In Paris he painted portraits of friends and acquaintances, still-life paintings, views of Le Moulin de la Galette, scenes in Montmartre, Asnières, and along the Seine.

Japanese influence During his stay in Paris, where Japonisme had become a fashion influencing the work of the Impressionists, he began to collect ukiyo-e prints and eventually to deal in them with his brother Theo. At that time he made three copies of ukiyo-e prints, The Courtesan and the two studies after Hiroshige. Van Gogh developed an idealised conception of the Japanese artist which led him to the Yellow House at Arles and his attempt to form a utopian art colony there with Paul Gauguin. His enthusiasm for Japanese art had however waned by July 1888 in favour of Impressionism

Flowering trees In his flowering trees, Vincent attained a sense of spontaneity, freeing himself from the strict self- analytical approach he took in Paris. In Almond Tree in Blossom, Vincent used the light, broken strokes of impressionism and the dabs of colour of divisionism for a sparkling surface effect. The distinctive contours of the tree and its position in the foreground recall the formal qualities of Japanese prints.