Why The Purple Irises In Van Gogh's ‘Field With Irises Near Arles’ Are Turning Blue

Meera Dolasia
Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:55:17 -0800

The "Field with irises near Arles" is one of Dutch artist Van Gogh's most famous paintings. Believed to have been the first of the 130 paintings the artist created while at the Saint Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Remy, France, it is amongst his most recognized and coveted masterpieces. Not surprisingly, the painting has been extremely well-preserved and looks as good as when the artist first painted it, except for one thing - the once purple irises have started to turn blue.