Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital

Vincent van Gogh's Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital is a painting from 1889, made during the period he spent at the hospital whose grounds it depicts. The work is in the collection of the Hammer Museum, where visitors can study its energetic brushwork and tall, tree-filled composition up close.

Where to see it

Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital is held by the Hammer Museum. Works in a collection are not always on view, as paintings may be rotated, rehung or temporarily lent, so check the Hammer Museum's official website for current display status, opening hours and admission details before you plan your visit.

What to look for in person

Brushwork you can follow stroke by stroke

Van Gogh's paintings from this period are built from visible, directional strokes of paint rather than smoothly blended surfaces. Stand close to the canvas and trace how individual marks change direction to describe bark, foliage, ground and sky. Then step back a few paces and watch those separate strokes merge into a coherent garden scene. Moving between these two viewing distances is one of the most rewarding ways to spend time with this picture, and it shows how deliberately the artist used the paint itself as a means of drawing.

Trees as the main actors

As the title signals, trees are the subject here, not a backdrop. Look at how trunks and branches are shaped through rhythmic, often curving lines that give them a sense of movement and growth. Notice how the trees divide the picture space and how light and shadow are suggested through changes in colour rather than fine detail. Van Gogh returned to trees again and again in his late work, treating them almost like figures with their own character, and this canvas lets you see that approach clearly.

A tall canvas that emphasises height

The painting measures 92.2 cm high by 73.4 cm wide, a vertical format that suits a subject defined by upward growth. Pay attention to how the composition uses this height: your eye is led from the ground toward the upper edge, much as it would be when looking up at trees in a real garden. At this size the canvas is large enough to hold your field of view when you stand near it, so give yourself room to see the whole design before moving in to examine details.

About the painting

Trees in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital dates from 1889, a pivotal year in Vincent van Gogh's life. In May of that year, following a series of health crises in Arles, he voluntarily entered the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France. He remained there for roughly a year, and during that time he continued to paint with great intensity. When he was not permitted to work further afield, the hospital's walled garden and its trees became one of his most accessible subjects, and he painted them repeatedly in different seasons and from different viewpoints.

The Saint-Rémy period is widely regarded as one of the most productive phases of his career. His letters to his brother Theo, who supported him financially and emotionally, record his thinking about colour, nature and his working routine during this time. In paintings from these months, Van Gogh's line becomes increasingly rhythmic and expressive, with trees, hills and skies rendered in swirling, energetic strokes.

For visitors, this painting offers a direct look at that late style. Rather than reproducing the garden with photographic precision, Van Gogh used colour and the texture of the paint to convey the life of the place as he experienced it. The canvas also belongs to the final chapter of his work: he left Saint-Rémy in 1890 and died that July. Seeing a garden picture from this period in person, with its raised paint surface and lively marks, conveys qualities that reproductions in books or on screens tend to flatten. Today the work is part of the collection of the Hammer Museum.