Weeping Tree - Vincent van Gogh

Gift of Tiffany and Margaret Blake

"Weeping Tree" by Vincent van Gogh (1889) Reed pen and black-brown ink, with black chalk on off-white wove paper.

Commentary

"Weeping Tree" by Vincent van Gogh (1889) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include pen and ink drawings. This piece is held in the source collection's P rints and Drawings collection. Vincent van Gogh is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Vincent van Gogh Dutch, 1853-1890. The work is cataloged within a Netherlands cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as pen and ink drawings, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Reed pen and black-brown ink, with black chalk on off-white wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (49.3 × 61.3 cm (19 7/16 × 24 3/16 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include pen and ink drawings. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/52733

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data