Fall of Leaves , or Falling Autumn Leaves is a pair of paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh executed during the two months he shared his studio in Arles with his friend and mentor Paul Gauguin, as well as the subjects they chose. Following months of correspondence, Paul Gauguin joins Van Gogh in Arles in October 1888. Both were intent on depicting a "non-naturalist landscape". The paintings are of the first works that van Gogh and Gauguin painted following Gauguin's arrival. Van Gogh and Gauguin visited an ancient Roman necropolis , "Les Alyscamps", which had been built by the... Romans outside city walls. Over time the grounds were overtaken by factories and the railroad, leaving the Allee des Tombeaux, the avenue of tombs, a lane of shady poplar trees that led to a Romanesque chapel. During a period of bad weather Van Gogh worked on a second pair of "Les Alyscamps" paintings, which were taken from a vantage point above the lane and looking through the poplar trees, made in the studio. The yellow-orange of the leaves contrast to the violet-blue trunks of the poplar trees.
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| Artist: | Vincent van Gogh |
| Artform: | Painting |
| Date completed: | 1888 |
| Height: | 2' 5" |
| Width: | 3' 0" |