Still-life “Pink roses” Van Gogh wrote in 1990 in Auvers-sur-Oise, where he moved after treatment in the hospital Saint-Remy. Among all the paintings of the late period of the artist’s work this still life is one of the best.
The painting lacks bright contrasting colors, characteristic for earlier periods of creativity. It is made in calm pastel colors, which, despite the contrast, do not create sharpness in the color scheme. In the still life there is no clear composition structure – it seems that it can be turned by either side, and the image from this practically does not change. Roses are written in such a way that they seem to be pushed out of the plane of the picture into the space where the viewer is.
Only a barely noticeable hint of a glass vase can indicate where the still life has a bottom. The plane of the table is indicated by a strictly vertical direction of strokes of green and buffy hues. This disorder is also very characteristic of the artist’s last period of creativity.
Also, the painting clearly shows the influence on the work of Van Gogh Japanese painting, which was expressed in the sharpness of the contours of the leaves, slightly uneven wriggling lines of the drawing.