Blossoms (Women)

For Van Gogh, oleanders were joyous, life-affirming flowers that bloomed "inexhaustibly" and were always "putting out strong new shoots." In this painting of August 1888 the flowers fill a majolica jug that the artist used for other still lifes made in Arles. In the Museum’s Irises he sought a “harmonious and soft” effect by placing the “violet” flowers against a “pink background,” which have since faded owing to his use of fugitive red pigments.

Illustrated by British artist, Luke Edward Hall, our Blossoms Slipper features two of Van Gogh's most iconic floral paintings ("Oleanders - 1888" and "Irises - 1890") on show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, intricately embroidered on a black Sea Island cotton-velvet slipper, with a black grosgrain trim.