What Is The Mood Of 'The Rocks' By Van Gogh: Romantic Or Romantic?

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Recommended: Van Gogh’s use of complementary color schemes in The Sower and The Night Café

A twisted oak tree dominates this rocky, windswept landscape. This site is in the south of France, three miles northeast of Arles near the ruined medieval Abbey of Montmajour. Although van Gogh made many drawings of the abbey, The Rocks is his only painting of the countryside near Montmajour. He was so moved by these surroundings that he wrote an evocative letter, dated July 5, 1888, to his brother Theo:

Yesterday at sunset I was on a stony heath where some very small twisted oaks grow; in the background, a ruin on a hill, and wheat in the valley. It was romantic…the sun pouring bright yellow rays on the bushes and the ground, a perfect shower of gold. And all the lines were lovely, the whole thing nobly beautiful. You would not have been surprised to see knights and ladies suddenly appear, coming back from hunting or hawking, or to have heard the voice of some old Provençal troubadour. The fields looked violet, the distances blue.¹ …show more content…

Van Gogh directs attention to the tree by its large size, its central placement, and the contrast of its dark leaves against the pale sky. Typical of van Gogh’s style are the prominent brushstrokes of thick paint, which create a rich texture and sense of vitality, focusing attention on the flat surface of the painting. Layers of oil paint are built up on the canvas, giving a sculptural quality to the rocks and trees.

In van Gogh’s art, color is an important expressive element. Here the palette relies on cool blues and greens and warm yellows and oranges to capture the sunny landscape. The harmony of colors is appropriate for the “romantic” mood and “nobly beautiful” effect the landscape evoked for van Gogh. The whites, creams, pale blues, and soft pink and peach tones describe the light-filled

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