The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy)1889 · Study 1947.209

Context from the museum

Like Two Poplars in the Alpilles near Saint-Rémy (on view nearby), Vincent van Gogh painted this autumnal landscape while living in a psychiatric hospital near Saint-Rémy in southern France where he was treated for severe depression. Understanding that painting from nature eased his symptoms, Van Gogh’s physician permitted the artist to paint landscapes outside. Van Gogh described this painting in a letter to his brother Theo: “The last study I did is a view of the village, where they were at work under some enormous plane trees—repairing the pavements. . . . There are heaps of sand, stones, and the gigantic trunks—the leaves yellowing and here and there you can get a glimpse of a house front and small figures.”

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Van Gogh sometimes created what he called "repetitions," in which he painted the same subject and composition again. This painting has a repetition, currently in the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. Conservation research has shown that the Cleveland painting is the first version.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy) is 91.8 cm wide and 73.4 cm high, equivalent to approximately 36.1 × 28.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.25:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.67 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 30.6% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 104.1 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With The Large Plane Trees (Road Menders at Saint-Rémy) in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on fabric, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 91.8 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?