"Cypresses" was painted in late June 1889, shortly after Van Gogh began his yearlong voluntary stay as a patient in the asylum in Saint-Rémy. The subject, which he found "as beautiful of line and proportion as an Egyptian obelisk," both captivated and challenged the artist: "It is a splash of black in a sunny landscape, but it is one of the most interesting black notes, and the most difficult to hit off exactly that I can imagine." Van Gogh's initial fascination with cypresses resulted in three paintings: two showing the "big and massive trees" at close range, in vertical format (this and one in the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo), and a majestic horizontal view, "Wheat Field with Cypresses" (on view in the adjacent gallery), which he later repeated in two variants.

the artist's brother, Theo van Gogh, Paris (1889–d. 1891; sent to him by the artist on September 28, 1889); his widow, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, Amsterdam, in trust for their son, Vincent Willem van Gogh (1891–95; sold with six other paintings for fl. 384 to Moline); [Lucien Moline, Paris, from 1895]; Julien Leclercq, Paris (1901; purchased in February for Fr 600; d. 1901); Maurice Fabre, Paris and Gasparets (by 1904–8); [E. Druet, Paris, 1908]; sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 16, 1908, no. 25; Fritz Meyer-Fierz, Zürich (bought in Paris; May 1908–1923/24); [Galerien Thannhauser (Justin K. Thannhauser), Berlin, 1923/24–probably 1931; sold, apparently on or soon after December 24, 1931, to Schocken]; Salman Schocken, Berlin, later New York (probably 1931–1949; sold in 1949 to Thannhauser); [Justin K. Thannhauser, New York, 1949; sold to MMA]

Pavillon de la Ville de Paris, Société des artistes indépendants. "Salon des Indépendants (7me exposition)," March 20–April 27, 1891, no. 1195 (as "Cyprès," possibly this picture).

Munich. Galerien Thannhauser. "Van Gogh," 1907, no. 43 [see Ref. Sterling and Salinger 1967].

Paris. Galerie E. Druet. "Quelques oeuvres de Vincent van Gogh," January 6–18, 1908, no. 4 (as "Cyprès," lent by M.M. Fabre) [see Refs. La Faille 1939 and 1970].

Cologne. Städtische Ausstellungshalle. "Internationale Kunstausstellung des Sonderbundes Westdeutscher Kunstfreunde und Künstler," May 25–September 30, 1912, no. 108 (lent by Fritz Meyer, Zürich).

Kunsthalle Basel. "Vincent van Gogh," March 27–April 21, 1924, no. 60 (as lent by a private collection, Lucerne).

Berliner Künstlerhaus, Galerien Thannhauser. "Erste Sonderausstellung in Berlin," January 9–mid-February 1927, no. 119.

Paris. Bernheim-Jeune. "Vincent van Gogh: l'époque française," June 20–July 2, 1927, no catalogue [see Ref. La Faille 1928].

New York. Museum of Modern Art. "First Loan Exhibition: Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, van Gogh," November 8–December 7, 1929, no. 85 (lent by Justin Thannhauser, Berlin).

Cleveland Museum of Art. "Work by Vincent van Gogh," November 3–December 12, 1948, no. 18 (lent anonymously).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings," October 21, 1949–January 15, 1950, no. 112.

Art Institute of Chicago. "Van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings," February 1–April 15, 1950, no. 112.

Hempstead, N.Y. Hofstra College. "Metropolitan Museum Masterpieces," June 26–September 1, 1952, no. 15.

West Palm Beach, Fla. Norton Gallery and School of Art. "French Painting—David to Cézanne," February 4–March 1, 1953, no. 26.

Coral Gables, Fla. Lowe Gallery. "French Painting—David to Cézanne," March 11–31, 1953, no. 26.

Sarasota, Fla. John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. "Directors' Choice," February 6–March 4, 1955, no. 26.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh as Critic and Self-Critic," October 30, 1973–January 6, 1974, no. 7.

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

Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. "Vincent van Gogh: Paintings," March 30–July 29, 1990, no. 90.

Art Institute of Chicago. "Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South," September 22, 2001–January 13, 2002, no. 117.

Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum. "Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South," February 9–June 2, 2002, no. 117.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings," October 12–December 31, 2005, no. 109.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 109.

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

New Haven. Yale University Art Gallery. "Van Gogh's Cypresses and The Starry Night: Visions of Saint-Rémy," June 15–September 7, 2008, no catalogue.

Kunstmuseum Basel. "Vincent van Gogh—Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes," April 26–September 27, 2009, no. 50.

London. Royal Academy of Arts. "The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters," January 23–April 18, 2010, no. 133.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art; Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 6, 2012–January 4, 2013.

Beijing. National Museum of China. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art; Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 8–May 9, 2013.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [September 28, 1889] [English transl. published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, p. 219, letter no. 608], writes that he is sending off to Theo that day a "Study of Cypresses" along with several other canvases.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [June 25, 1889] [published in "The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh," 3 vols., Greenwich, Conn., 1958, vol. 3, pp. 184-86, letter no. 596], discusses two studies of cypresses that he has been working on, and includes a sketch of this painting in the letter, stating that he believes it will turn out to be the better of the two.

Lucien Moline. Letter to Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. June 14, 1895 [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam], states that he has found a dealer who will purchase this painting along with six others for a total price of Fr 800, not counting the cost of the frames and his own commission.

Julien Leclercq. Letter to Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. February 20, 1901 [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam], states that he purchased this painting eight days ago for Fr 600.

Julius Meier-Graefe. Entwicklungsgeschichte der Modernen Kunst. Stuttgart, 1904, vol. 1, pp. 119–20 n. 1, states that Maurice Fabre owns it.

R. Meyer-Riefstahl. "Vincent van Gogh—I." Burlington Magazine 18 (November 1910), ill. p. 96.

E. A. Seemann. Bildende Kunst 10 (July 1912), p. 229, [see records in archive file].

Camera Work special no. (June 1913), pl. IV.

Max Deri. Die Malerei im XIX. Jahrhundert. Berlin, 1920, vol. 1, p. 227; vol. 2, pl. 57, erroneously dates it 1890.

Curt Glaser. Vincent van Gogh. Leipzig, 1921, pl. 16.

Jahrbuch der Kunst (1922), p. 32, [see records in archive file].

Wissen und Leben 17, no. 1 (October 1, 1923), p. 1, ill., [see Ref. La Faille 1928].

Roch Grey. Vincent van Gogh. Rome, 1924, ill.

J.-B. de La Faille. "Vincent van Gogh." L'Art vivant 3 (August 1, 1927), ill. p. 626.

Julius Meier-Graefe. "Die Franzosen in Berlin." Der Cicerone 19 (January 1927), ill. p. 54.

Max Osborn. "Klassiker der französischen Moderne die Galerien Thannhauser im Berliner Künstlerhaus." Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 59 (March 1927), ill. p. 336.

Florent Fels. Vincent van Gogh. Paris, 1928, ill. (color, frontispiece).

J.-B. de La Faille. L'Oeuvre de Vincent van Gogh: Catalogue Raisonné. Paris, 1928, vol. 1, pp. 172–73, no. 613; vol. 2, pl. 171.

Ralph Flint. "The Current American Art Season." Art and Understanding 1 (March 1930), p. 184, ill. p. 176.

J.-B. de La Faille. Les Faux Van Gogh. Paris, 1930, pp. 7–8, 44, pl. 6, discusses the relationship between this work, the drawing in Brooklyn (F1525), and two paintings (F614 and F616) with very similar compositions which he had exposed as fakes in the corrigenda to his catalogue raisonné of 1928.

Alfred Bader. Künstler-Tragik: Karl Stauffer, Vincent van Gogh. Basel, 1932, pp. 89–90, pl. 47.

W. Scherjon. Catalogue des tableaux par Vincent van Gogh décrits dans ses lettres. Périodes: St. Rémy et Auvers sur Oise. Utrecht, 1932, p. 22, no. 10, ill.

Jean de Beucken. Vincent van Gogh: un portrait. [Brussels], n.d., p. 94, ill. p. 103 (color).

W. Scherjon and Jos. De Gruyter. Vincent van Gogh's Great Period: Arles, St. Rémy and Auvers sur Oise (complete catalogue). Amsterdam, 1937, p. 212, St. Rémy no. 10, ill.

J.-B. de La Faille. Vincent van Gogh. London, [1939], pp. 425, 559, 574, 588, no. 616, ill.

M. M. van Dantzig. Vincent?: A New Method of Identifying the Artist and His Work and of Unmasking the Forger and His Products. Amsterdam, [1947], pp. 89–90, 95–96, pl. 6.

Isabella H. Perry. "Vincent van Gogh's Illness: A Case Record." Bulletin of the History of Medicine 21, no. 2 (1947), p. 169.

Georg Schmidt. Van Gogh. Bern, 1947, pp. 26–27, pl. 38.

"Notes on the Cover." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 8 (October 1949), opp. p. 49, ill. in color on cover.

Murray Pease. "The Hand and the Brush." Art News Annual 19 (1950), pp. 90–96, ill. overall (color and black and white) and four details (black and white), analyzes the painter's technique.

Jean Leymarie. Van Gogh. [Paris], 1951, pp. 91, 125, no. 116, ill., identifies the second study of cypresses mentioned by Van Gogh in his letter to Theo [see Ref. Gogh 1889, letter no. 596] as F620 (Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo).

Margaretta M. Salinger. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Miniatures: Vincent van Gogh. New York, 1952, unpaginated, ill. (color).

John Rewald. Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin. 1st ed. New York, 1956, p. 334, ill. p. 335 (color) [3rd, rev. ed., 1978, p. 311, ill. p. 314 (color)].

August Kuhn-Foelix. Vincent van Gogh: Eine Psychographie. Bergen, Germany, 1958, p. 146, pl. 37 (cropped).

Catalogue of Colour Reproductions of Paintings—1860 to 1961. Paris, 1961, p. 165, no. 420, ill., erroneously as in a private collection.

H. R. Graetz. The Symbolic Language of Vincent van Gogh. New York, 1963, pp. 185–88, 191, 193–94, 311, colorpl. 72.

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. 188–89, ill.

Alan Bowness. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, Amsterdam. Exh. cat., Hayward Gallery. [London], [1968], pp. 110–11.

Jean Leymarie. Van Gogh. [1st ed., 1968]. New York, 1977, pp. 152, 164, 209, ill. p. 153 (color).

Margaretta M. Salinger. "Windows Open to Nature." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 27 (Summer 1968), unpaginated, ill.

J.-B. de La Faille. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam, 1970, pp. 246–47, 528, 635, no. 613, ill.

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. 220, no. 668, ill. p. 218.

Hope Benedict Werness. "Essays on van Gogh's Symbolism." PhD diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1972, p. 219 n. 17.

Matthias Arnold. "Duktus und Bildform bei Vincent van Gogh." PhD diss., Ruprecht-Karl University, Heidelberg, 1973, pp. 108–110, 155–56, 194 n. 406.

Carl R. Baldwin The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Impressionist Epoch. [New York], 1974, p. 20, ill., believes it should be considered the daylight counterpart to "Starry Night" (Museum of Modern Art, New York), painted at about the same time.

Paul Hefting. Vincent van Gogh: A Detailed Catalogue of the Paintings and Drawings by Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller National Museum. 4th rev. ed. Otterlo, 1980, p. 103 [1st Dutch ed., 1957; 1st English ed., 1959].

Jan Hulsker. The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. [1st ed., Amsterdam, 1977]. New York, 1980, pp. 398, 404, no. 1746, ill.

Carol Donnell-Kotrozo. Critical Essays on Postimpressionism. London, 1983, ill. [plates unpaginated].

Albert Boime. "Van Gogh's 'Starry Night': A History of Matter and a Matter of History." Arts Magazine 59 (December 1984), p. 87, fig. 6.

Patricia Mathews. "Aurier and Van Gogh: Criticism and Response." Art Bulletin 68 (March 1986), p. 95, fig. 3 [the captions to figs. 2–4 are mixed up].

Ronald Pickvance The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. New York, 1986, pp. 108–10, 113, 189, 191, 298–99, no. 15, ill. (black and white and color), identifies it as "almost certainly" the picture included in the 1890 Salon des Indépendants as no. 832 [see Exhibitions].

Lauren Soth. "Van Gogh's Agony." Art Bulletin 68 (June 1986), p. 309 n. 41.

John Leighton in "Vincent van Gogh's 'A Cornfield, with Cypresses'." National Gallery Technical Bulletin 11 (1987), pp. 44–45 n. 8.

Gary Tinterow et al. "Modern Europe." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 8, New York, 1987, pp. 64–65, colorpl. 43 (overall and detail).

Walter Feilchenfeldt. Vincent van Gogh & Paul Cassirer, Berlin: The Reception of Van Gogh in Germany from 1901 to 1914. Zwolle, The Netherlands, 1988, pp. 107, 149, 158, ill.

Marja Supinen. "Julien Leclercq-Vincent van Goghin varhainen puolustaja." Taidehistoriallisia Tutkimuksia Konsthistoriska Studier 11 (1988), pp. 82, 87–89, 92, 109, fig. 8, identifies it as having been in Leclercq's collection, and as no. 35 in the 1901 Bernheim-Jeune exhibition, at least in part because of the name "Leclercq" which appears in blue across the back of the stretcher.

Fritz Erpel. Vincent van Gogh: Lebensbilder, Lebenszeichen. Munich, 1989, colorpl. 440.

Uwe M. Schneede. Van Gogh in St. Rémy und Auvers: Gemälde 1889/1890. Munich, 1989, unpaginated, colorpl. 7.

Roland Dorn in Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914. Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Freren, Germany, 1990, pp. 170, 172, 189 n. 2, states that Theo sent it to the 1890 Salon des Indépendants, and that "in 1891 it was presumably exhibited there again".

Walter Feilchenfeldt in Vincent van Gogh and the Modern Movement: 1890–1914. Exh. cat., Museum Folkwang, Essen. Freren, Germany, 1990, p. 44.

Stanley David Gedzelman. "The Meteorological Odyssey of Vincent van Gogh." Leonardo 23, no. 1 (1990), pp. 110–11, fig. 6.

Charles S. Moffett in The Passionate Eye: Impressionist and Other Master Paintings from the Collection of Emil G. Bührle, Zürich. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington. Zürich, 1990, p. 176.

Ronald Pickvance in Vincent van Gogh: Drawings. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo. Milan, 1990, p. 286.

Marja Supinen. "Julien Leclerq: A Champion of the Unknown Vincent van Gogh." Jong Holland 6, no. 6 (1990), p. 14, fig. 11.

Evert van Uitert et al. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam. Milan, 1990, pp. 210–12, no. 90, ill. (color).

Jan Hulsker. Vincent van Gogh: A Guide to His Work and Letters. Amsterdam, 1993, pp. 41, 54–55, 61, 76.

Vojtech Jirat-Wasiutynski. "Vincent van Gogh's Paintings of Olive Trees and Cypresses from St.-Rémy." Art Bulletin 75 (December 1993), pp. 656–58, 667, fig. 11.

Gary Tinterow in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 1992–1993." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 51 (Fall 1993), p. 51.

Matthias Arnold. Vincent van Gogh: Werk und Wirkung. Munich, 1995, pp. 485, 494, colorpl. 277.

Louis van Tilborgh in In Perfect Harmony: Picture + Frame, 1850–1920. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, 1995, p. 172.

Jan Hulsker. The New Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches. rev. ed. Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 398, 496, no. 1746, ill. p. 404.

Naomi Margolis Maurer. The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom: The Thought and Art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Madison, N.J., 1998, p. 92, fig. 154 (color).

Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov. Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers. [New York], 1999, pp. 235, 238, ill. p. 240 (color).

Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh. Exh. cat., Fondation Pierre Gianadda. Martigny, 2000, pp. 35, 90.

Douglas Druick and Peter Kort Zegers et al. Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South. Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. New York, 2001, pp. 289, 294, 408, no. 117, fig. 47 (color).

The Berggruen Collection. Phillips, New York. May 7, 2001, p. 54, fig. 7.

Louis van Tilborgh and Ella Hendriks. "The Tokyo 'Sunflowers': A Genuine Repetition by Van Gogh or a Schuffenecker Forgery?" Van Gogh Museum Journal (2001), p. 28 n. 71, pp. 30–31 n. 86, discuss the piece of canvas added to the painting in the context of other Van Goghs with similar additions.

Pierre Cabanne. Van Gogh. Paris, 2002, p. 178.

Chris Stolwijk and Han Veenenbos. The Account Book of Theo van Gogh and Jo van Gogh-Bonger. Amsterdam, 2002, pp. 47, 105, 142, 181, 183, ill., identify it as one of seven paintings sold by Van Gogh-Bonger for 384 guilders to the Paris dealer Lucien Moline in 1895.

Hildelies Balk in The Paintings of Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Otterlo, 2003, p. 440.

Frances Fowle. "Painting Like a Provençal: Cézanne, Van Gogh, and the Secret of Monticelli's 'Alchemy'." Soil and Stone: Impressionism, Urbanism, Environment. Aldershot, England, 2003, p. 147, calls this and F620 "possibly his [Van Gogh's] most Monticelli-like compositions;" states that our picture was the initial study.

Teio Meedendorp in The Paintings of Vincent van Gogh in the Collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum. Otterlo, 2003, pp. 298–99, ill. (color), discusses the painting and its provenance in relation to a related work (F620); explains the symbolism of the cypress.

Sjraar van Heugten. Van Gogh Draughtsman: The Masterpieces. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, 2005, pp. 163, 167, 191, fig. 147 (color).

Marije Vellekoop in Vincent van Gogh: The Drawings. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. New York, 2005, pp. 312, 314–15, no. 109, ill. (color).

Lupina Lara Elizondo in Lupina Lara Elizondo. Van Gogh, Atl, O'Higgins: Expresión humana, esencia del paisaje. Mexico City, 2006, pp. 111, 257, ill. p. 103 (color).

Walter Feilchenfeldt. By Appointment Only: Cézanne, Van Gogh and Some Secrets of Art Dealing. English ed. London, 2006, ill. p. 72 (color), as "The Cypresses"; includes installation photo of painting at the 1912 Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne [see Exh. Cologne 1912].

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. 148–49, 219, no. 109, ill. (color and black and white).

Susan Alyson Stein in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007, pp. 170, 258–59, no. 158, ill. (color and black and white).

Gary Tinterow in Masterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007, fig. 17 (installation photo, color).

Marije Vellekoop in Van Gogh: Heartfelt Lines. Exh. cat., Albertina, Vienna. Cologne, 2008, pp. 60, 67 n. 1.

Marie-Paule Vial in Van Gogh Monticelli. Exh. cat., Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille. [Paris], 2008, p. 34, fig. 13 (color).

Gottfried Boehm in Vincent van Gogh—Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Ostfildern, 2009, pp. 34, 46.

Susan Alyson Stein in Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: The Annenberg Collection. 4th rev. ed. [1st ed., 1989]. New York, 2009, pp. 208, 210, 220, 223 n. 15, fig. 154 (color).

Seraina Werthemann and Nina Zimmer in Vincent van Gogh—Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Ostfildern, 2009, pp. 241–43, 246–47, 304, no. 50, ill. (color).

Leo Jansen in The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2010, p. 239.

Teio Meedendorp in The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2010, pp. 240–43, no. 133, ill. (color).

The name "Leclercq" is written in blue across the left side of the stretcher. [see correspondence in archive file]

Van Gogh painted this picture in June 1889 at Saint-Rémy. He included a sketch of the composition in a letter of June 25 to his brother Theo. There is also a pen-and-ink drawing (F1525; Brooklyn Museum of Art) made after the painting.

Eugène Druet photograph, pl. 59, nos. 24/30–43855 and 40/50–6329, ca. 1900–1910 (Collection Le fonds Druet-Vizzavona, Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Fort de Saint-Cyr, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France). The photograph is assigned two nos. Probably shot during Exh. Paris 1908.