Plagued by mental illness throughout his life, prolific Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh chose to enter an asylum in Saint-Rémy, France in May 1889, where, in the last year before his death, he created almost 130 paintings. Irises was the first painting Van Gogh started after his arrival. Each iris petal in the painting is unique, featuring different shading, shape and size and painted with the same precision as Van Gogh’s portraits. There is no repetition, but rather an endless variety of curved silhouettes. Only one blossom, however, is a completely different color.
