Vase with Chinese asters and gladioli

Vincent van Gogh had always used generous amounts of paint. But after discovering the flower still lifes of Adophe Monticelli (1824-1886) in June 1886, he went one step further. The unpolished appearance of Monticelli's work and his lavish use of paint very much appealed to Van Gogh. He deliberately started to explore the effects of applying paint thickly.