This painting belongs to a series of fourteen blossoming orchards that Van Gogh painted in spring 1888, shortly after his arrival in Arles, the provençal town in the south of France where he worked from February 1888 until May 1889. The present example, which includes a scythe and rake, is one of only two orchards that allude to human presence or labor. The motif and Van Gogh's stylized treatment are related to Japanese prints.

Inscription: Signed (lower left): Vincent

presumably the artist's brother, Theo van Gogh, Paris (1888/89–d. 1891; sent to him by the artist in 1888/89); and in turn, his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam (from 1891); [Kunstzalen Oldenzeel, Rotterdam, 1904]; H. P. Bremmer, The Hague (1904–55; on loan to the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, from 1924; cat., 1935, p. 77, no. 40–24); [E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam, 1955]; [Wildenstein, New York, 1955–56; sold to MMA]

Rotterdam. Kunstzalen Oldenzeel. "Vincent van Gogh," November 10–December 15, 1904, no. 65 [see Ref. La Faille 1970].

Cologne. Städtische Ausstellungshalle. "Internationale Kunstausstellung des Sonderbundes Westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler," May 25–September 30, 1912, no. 20 (as "Obstgarten," lent by H. P. Bremmer, The Hague).

The Hague. Gemeentemuseum. "Verzameling H. P. Bremmer," March 9–April 23, 1950, no. 35 (as "Boomgaard").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition," December 12, 1974–February 10, 1975, not in catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh in Arles," October 18–December 30, 1984, no. 9.

Yokohama Museum of Art. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: French Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century," March 25–June 4, 1989, no. 98.

Fort Lauderdale. Museum of Art. "Corot to Cézanne: 19th Century French Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," December 22, 1992–April 11, 1993, no catalogue.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 108.

Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19.Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.

Marseilles. Centre de la Vieille Charité. "Van Gogh Monticelli," September 16, 2008–January 11, 2009, no. 57.

London. Royal Academy of Arts. "The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters," January 23–April 18, 2010, no. 114 (as "Flowering Orchard").

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [April 20, 1888] [published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 2, p. 549, letter no. 478], writes that he now has ten paintings of orchards, "not counting three little studies, and one big one of a cherry tree, which I've spoiled" (possibly this picture).

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Émile Bernard. [about April 20, 1888] [published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 482, letter no. B4], describes a canvas of a cherry tree, which he "overdid" the day before (possibly this picture).

Moderne Kunstwerken 2, no. 14 (n.d.), ill., [see Ref. La Faille 1928].

J.-B. de La Faille. L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné. Paris, 1928, vol. 1, p. 157, no. 552; vol. 2, pl. 151, as "Verger".

W. Scherjon and Jos. De Gruyter. Vincent van Gogh's Great Period: Arles, St. Rémy and Auvers sur Oise (complete catalogue). Amsterdam, 1937, p. 54, Arles no. 22, ill., as "Cherry-Tree"; identify it as the work mentioned in letters 478 and B4 [see Refs. 1888].

J.-B. de La Faille. Vincent van Gogh. London, [1939], pp. 401, 565, 578, 588, 591, no. 577, ill., as "The Orchard"; dates it April 1888.

W[ilhelm]. Uhde, and Ludwig Goldscheider. Vincent van Gogh. New York, 1941, pl. 19, as "Orchard," in the collection of H. P. Bremmer, The Hague; date it April 1888.

Theodore Rousseau Jr. "New Accessions of Paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 14 (April 1956), p. 198, ill. p. 203, dates it April 1888.

Frank Elgar. Van Gogh: A Study of His Life and Work. New York, 1958, p. 110, no. 105, ill., as "Orchard," in the collection of H. P. Bremmer, The Hague; dates it April 1888.

August Kuhn-Foelix. Vincent van Gogh: Eine Psychographie. Bergen, Germany, 1958, p. 140, pl. 34, as "Geäst der Gartenbilder".

Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX–XX Centuries." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 3, New York, 1967, pp. 182–83, ill.

J.-B. de La Faille. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 232, 525, 633, no. 552, ill., as "The Orchard: White Blossoms and Violet Branches"; dates it April 1888; identifies it as the spoiled work referred to in letter nos. 478 and B4 [see Refs. 1888]; states that it has the same composition as F1516 (The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York), a drawing of an orchard with the towers of Arles in the background.

Paolo Lecaldano. "Da Arles a Auvers." L'opera pittorica completa di Van Gogh e i suoi nessi grafici. 2, repr. [1st ed., 1966]. Milan, 1971–77, p. 205, no. 488, ill., as "Frutteto in fiore"; dates it April 1888.

Matthias Arnold. "Duktus und Bildform bei Vincent van Gogh." PhD diss., Ruprecht-Karl University, Heidelberg, 1973, p. 193 n. 371.

Carl R. Baldwin The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Impressionist Epoch. [New York], 1974, p. 21.

Jan Hulsker. The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 310, 313, no. 1381, ill., as "Orchard with White Blossoms"; believes this to be one of five paintings of orchards not mentioned in Van Gogh's letters, and dates this group to the last week of March 1888.

Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh in Arles. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, pp. 45, 48, 61, no. 9, ill. (color), expresses doubt that this is the spoiled work referred to in letter nos. 478 and B4 [see Refs. 1888]; believes it to depict the same orchard shown in the drawing "Orchard with Arles in the Background" (F1516; The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York); states that the painting was sent to Theo in early May 1888.

Walter Feilchenfeldt. Vincent van Gogh & Paul Cassirer, Berlin: The Reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914. Zwolle, The Netherlands, 1988, pp. 103, 149.

Susan Alyson Stein in Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: French Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. Exh. cat., Yokohama Museum of Art. [Tokyo], 1989, p. 153, no. 98, ill. (color), gives early provenance of the picture.

Roger Hurlburt. "Free Spirits." Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale) (December 20, 1992), p. 4D, ill.

Helen Kohen. "Lasting Impressions." Miami Herald (December 20, 1992), p. 6I.

Matthias Arnold. Vincent van Gogh: Werk und Wirkung. Munich, 1995, p. 408–9.

Jan Hulsker. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996.

Hildelies Balk in The Paintings of Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Otterlo, 2003, pp. 430, 436.

Walter Feilchenfeldt. By Appointment Only: Cézanne, Van Gogh and Some Secrets of Art Dealing. English ed. London, 2006, p. 298, ill. p. 299 (color), as "The Orchard in Blossom"; dates it to April 1889 and argues that it was one of seven paintings made in Arles that spring; contends that Van Gogh left these paintings behind when he moved to St. Rémy and then retrieved them on 9 July 1889, sending them to Theo on 15 July 1889, along with the first paintings made in St. Rémy.

Susan Alyson Stein in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 147, 218, no. 108, ill. (color and black and white), dates it among the fourteen paintings of flowering fruit trees executed between late March and late April 1888.

Marije Vellekoop, and Roelie Zwikker, with the assistance of Monique Hageman. "Arles, Saint-Rémy & Auvers-sur-Oise, 1888–90." Vincent van Gogh, Drawings. 4, Zwolle, The Netherlands, 2007, part 1, p. 56 n. 1.

Nienke Bakker in The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2010, p. 196.

Teio Meedendorp in The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2010, p. 207, no. 114, ill. pp. 206, 209 (color, overall and detail), dates it April 1888, calling it perhaps the last of the series of fourteen flowering orchard paintings; suggests that it depicts plum and apple trees; based on the similar drawing (Hyde Collection, Glen Falls, New York; F1516), identifies this site as south of Arles, near the ancient Roman remains of Les Alyscamps.

This work is part of a series of orchards in bloom that Van Gogh worked on in Arles during spring 1888, and that he described in a letter to his brother Theo (published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 2, pp. 545–46, letter no. 477), illustrating his plans with a sketch of a vertical fruit tree flanked on either side by a horizontal orchard. The artist originally contemplated nine canvases, in sets of three, to be followed the next spring by a similar series of larger paintings. In such a scheme, this work, a vertical one, would have been one of the central canvases.