Van Gogh in bloom
May 26 2011
Picture: National Gallery
How about this for idea of the year - the National Gallery is planting a 'living wall' on its facade in the form of Van Gogh's A Wheatfield.
The wall will comprise of over 8,000 living plants, and will stay in place until October:
The living painting has been constructed by specialist horticulture and design company ANS using over 8,000 plants of more than 26 different varieties. To create the artwork, each plant was selected for its unique colour to match the tones of the original painting. It was then hand-planted into its location in one of three modules according to a numbered drawing which replicated the image. The modules were then grown vertically at the nursery ready for installation.
A Wheatfield, with Cypresses was painted in September 1889, when Van Gogh was in the St-Rémy mental asylum, near Arles, where he was a patient from May 1889 until May 1890. Writing to his brother Theo early in September, Van Gogh promised to send his brother ‘twelve size 30 canvases’ and it seems likely that A Wheatfield, with Cypresses was one of them.
