World Museum Guide
#42

Most Searched Artwork #42 Worldwide

Irises

Vincent van Gogh · 1889 · Getty Museum

Quick Answer

Irises is an oil painting by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, created in May 1889 in the gardens of the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France — one week after he voluntarily committed himself. It depicts a mass of blue iris flowers against an orange soil background. In 1987 it sold at Sotheby's New York for $53.9 million — at the time the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. It is now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Irises by Vincent van Gogh — vivid blue irises against an orange background

Public domain — Vincent van Gogh, 1889. Getty Museum, Los Angeles / Wikimedia Commons.

At a Glance

Artist
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
Created
1889
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
71 × 93 cm (28 × 36.6 in)
Location
Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles

Find it at

Getty Museum

Los Angeles, United States

"Painted in an asylum garden, sold for a record $53.9 million — Van Gogh's therapeutic obsession with irises"

History & Story

Van Gogh arrived at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in early May 1889 and was almost immediately given access to the garden. He wrote to Theo that the Irises was 'the lightning conductor for my illness' — painting being his best protection against the mental crises that had brought him there. He created the painting quickly, before his first severe episode at the asylum.

The painting was exhibited in Paris in 1889 at the Salon des Indépendants. It sold at Sotheby's New York in November 1987 for $53.9 million — a world record at the time, financed partly through loans that led to later regulatory changes in the art market. The Getty Museum acquired it in 1990.

Why It Matters

Irises demonstrates Van Gogh's extraordinary ability to find infinite variety within a single subject: the painting contains dozens of individual iris heads, each at a slightly different angle, in slightly different conditions of full bloom or fading. No two are identical, and Van Gogh gave each its own character. Against the orange soil, the blue-purple irises vibrate with the complementary colour contrast he sought in all his greatest work.

Key Facts & Figures

Painted one week after arrival: Van Gogh began Irises within a week of entering the asylum in May 1889
The record auction: Sold in November 1987 for $53.9 million — then the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction
Getty acquisition: The Getty Museum acquired it in 1990 — the Sotheby's buyer (Alan Bond) defaulted on the loan used to buy it
'Lightning conductor': Van Gogh wrote to Theo that painting was his 'lightning conductor for illness' — his protection against breakdown
White iris: One white iris among the blue ones — visible on the left edge — is either an anomalous bloom or a deliberate compositional accent

Common Questions About Irises

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