Van Gogh painted Almond Blossom in 1890 when he was in the Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in southern France. It was intended to be a gift to his brother Theo

On January 31, 1890, Theo’s son was born, and he wrote a letter to Van Gogh, telling him that the boy would be named Vincent. Van Gogh replied: “Today I received this great news, and I am happy beyond description.” Van Gogh wrote to his mother on February 19: “For the birth of the boy, I am going to paint a picture of almond tree with white flowers, against a background of blue sky.”

Van Gogh chose the motif of the almond tree to symbolize the birth of new life, as the plant flowers early in February in the south of France. The trunk and branches outlined in black, the flat space, and abrupt truncation on canvas edges are considered to show influences from Japanese ukiyoe prints

Van Gogh asked his brother to hang the painting in their bedroom, but the couple instead used it to decorate the living room over their piano. Upon the death of Theo, his son Vincent Wilhem inherited the painting, which is now displayed in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and is one of the most popular pieces in the museum