9781422271827

MASTERS OF ART

PLATE 5 Bulb Fields (1883) Oil on canvas on wood, 19 3 ⁄

4 x 26 inches (48.9 x 66 cm)

Bulb Fields , also known as Flower Beds , was painted by Van Gogh in 1883. It reflects his early style of painting landscapes. This painting shows tulip fields in blossom, and was created during Van Gogh’s time at The Hague. The bulb fields were characteristic of Van Gogh’s Dutch homeland. This striking painting was created with a technique using numerous and significantly truncated brushstrokes, creating a more detailed, subtler effect.

It is also not unreasonable to suggest that many collect great paintings in order to surround themselves with an aura of culture, and the prime motivation might not be so much a love of art as a desire to be seen as the possessor of such riches. In these egalitarian days, when the aristocracy is under threat, a hierarchy of culture may be emerging. If that is true, then it is unlikely that prices or works of art once established in this field (or publicly given for other cultural activities) will be allowed to diminish in value at the highest levels. The number of great American industrialists who are better known for their art collections than for their ownership of railroads perhaps establishes that in a land where aristocracy has no relevance. These comments and speculations are in no way original. They present a constant underlying apprehension 13