Undergrowth with Two Figures

In a letter to his younger brother, Theo, dated June 30, 1890, van Gogh explained the structure and brilliant colors of "Undergrowth with Two Figures": “The trunks of the violet poplars cross the landscape perpendicularly like columns,” adding “the depth of Sous Bois is blue, and under the big trunks the grass blooms with flowers in white, rose, yellow, and green.” Concealed amid the lush carpet of grass and flowers and a proliferation of slender tree trunks, two lovers reiterate the theme of nature’s fecundity. "Undergrowth with Two Figures" has a silvery tonality characteristic of van Gogh’s works from Auvers. His brushwork may be swift and visceral, his colors strong and biting, his emotion raw and visible, but the composition reveals no hint of psychological torment.