pollard willows

Pollard Willows with Setting Sun, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Pollard Willows, Vincent van Gogh
letter sketch, October 1881

For my second offering in the "Willow in Art" series, Vincent van Gogh, in the same manner as Monet, also did a series of willow pieces. Most were done in the 1880's, inspired by the pollard willows that grew in and around Etten, the small village in the south of The Netherlands, where van Gogh started his career as an artist. I wasn't quite sure exactly what a "pollard willow" was, and after Googling, learned it was simply a willow which had been severely cut back, to promote growth. I have to admit, these poor pollard willows have definitely been hacked back. I didn't recognize them without their graceful branches, but they certainly were a marvelously quirky inspiration for the brilliant van Gogh.

Pollard Willows, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Don't you love the textures here?

Pollard Willows, letter to Theo, August 1, 1882
(click to enlarge)

I absolutely adore hand illustrated correspondence. This particular willow piece graces a letter to Van Gogh's brother, Theo,1882. If you enjoy the art of letter writing, I highly recommend Illustrated Letters, Artists and Writers Correspond, edited by Roselyne de Ayala and Jean-Pierre Gueng, a wonderful book, with over 60 full color spreads of reproductions of delightful letters and doodles by artists and writers from the 19th and 20th centuries. I hate to think the lovely art of hand written correspondence is quickly becoming a thing of the past. It's high time to resurrect the habit before it's too late, don't you think?

Pollard Willow, Vincent van Gogh, watercolor, July 27, 1882

your willow or mine?

Kathleen and Monet's Weeping Willow, 1918, Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth

Monet's Weeping Willow, 1918
Columbus Museum of Art

My bloggy friend, Kathleen of Easy for Me to Say, sent me this wonderful photo of her viewing Claude Monet's Weeping Willow, on a recent visit to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. I was thrilled to get it, but at the same time wondered, since I could have sworn Monet's willow painting was at my own dear Columbus Museum of Art. Well, as it turns out, Monet did a whole series of willow paintings, from 1918-1919 in homage to French fallen soldiers. His beloved gardens at his Giverny home were the source of his inspiration. Monet's gardens inspired many other artists since. Even while untended and overgrown between 1926 and their restoration in in the late 1980s, these gardens continued to cast their spell.

Since I've finished up my willow musical series, I thought it might be fun to do a little follow-up with "Willow in Art", so stay tuned.