Now the Gothenburg Art Museum’s work Olivskog, Saint-Rémy is shown separately together with a film where the results of this research are presented. The film gives an insight into the conservatory analysis work behind the scenes but also an art historical context to van Gogh’s work with the series of olive groves.
The interdisciplinary exhibition and research project has meant that all fifteen paintings in the series with olive groves have undergone conservatory investigations with a focus on van Gogh’s artist’s materials, painting technique and color palette. Analyzes of pigments in the paintings show that the colors have changed over time. X-rays and computerized analysis of the fabric of the canvas have enabled a more precise dating of the paintings.
In the investigation, Gothenburg’s art museum’s works have been able to be placed in a chronological order where Olivskog, Saint-Rémy is now considered to belong to the five olive groves that were painted between November 26 and the beginning of December 1889. The painting is believed to be a preliminary study for Olive grove with two olive pickers (Kröller -Müller museum, Holland), but unlike the later work, Gothenburg’s art museum’s painting was probably created outdoors, as plant-based material has been found in the paint layer. The painting also has greater variation in terms of brushstrokes and more impulsive application of color, which indicates a spontaneous work with the brush.
Several paintings in the series have been shown to contain colors that were experimental and new to the art market at the time. Olive Grove, Saint-Rémy from the Gothenburg Museum of Art is one of the works with the best preserved pigments. The original color has remained relatively intact unlike some other paintings in the series, where the pigments have faded significantly and changed the appearance of the works. Through the results of the research, we come close to the sharp color image that van Gogh created in 1889.
Brother Theo van Gogh took care of the artist’s work after his death. Olivskog, Saint-Rémy became a personal favorite and he ensured that it was exhibited at the Salon in Paris in the spring of 1890. The work was later acquired in Gothenburg by the then museum director Axel Romdahl during a purchasing trip to Paris in 1917. With the help of donations from individuals art lovers, the work of van Gogh could be included in the art collection. This iconic work was the beginning of the first-class collection of French works at the Gothenburg Museum of Art, which includes works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet.
The project has been carried out in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art and the National Antiquities Authority.
