Following several seizures, probably caused by a form of epilepsy, Van Gogh committed himself voluntarily to a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in May 1889. Between attacks he painted with great lucidity and a renewed lyricism the landscape seen from his bedroom window and in the garden of the asylum. In his depictions of olive groves and undergrowth, Van Gogh's palette became more muted than in Arles and his brushwork more graphic.
When confined indoors, Van Gogh made copies after prints by the old masters he admired, such as Millet, Rembrandt, and Delacroix. The painting, Pietà (after Delacroix), is an example. He reproduced the drawing freely and improvised the colors, creating what he called a "translation" on canvas of the print.
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