Courtyard of the Hospital in Arles is an impressive oil on canvas by Vincent Van Gogh, painted during his time in a psychiatric hospital. Its dimensions are 73 x 92 cm( 28.7 x 36.2 in), and is part of the Oskar Reinhardt collection. The work features a very detailed and small brushwork, the customary vibrant and intense palette, as well as his loose and graphic rendering.

Arles was, at first, one of the happiest places for the painter. The sunny weather and the beautiful settings inspired him immensely, and his palette became increasingly vivid. The artist painted outdoors almost every day, exploring the different kinds of flowers, trees, houses, and many other sights. But it was also there that he had his infamous altercation with Paul Gauguin, resulting in his later admission to the hospital. The view of this painting is assumed to be from the window of his room or the balcony. On some occasions, he would paint outside in the field as well.

Since his arrival in Arles in the previous year, Van Gogh had settled in his unusual and appealing palette. In this painting, there is primarily green for the tree, the leaves, most of the garden; white for flowers and the building, red, brown, and blue for details and objects, and intense use of yellow, which dominates almost every corner of the picture. The resulting color harmony is of intense vibration, and the viewer can practically feel the sunny day through the warm colors.

At the bottom of the picture, there are four saplings between two big trees. Behind them, to the right, there is a part of beautiful orange vegetation. Both small and big trees were done with various tones of green, with one on the extreme left being primarily brown. Van Gogh’s manner is very detailed, and through his alternation of small brushstrokes and lines, he creates many visual rhythms which keep the viewer’s eye flowing through the canvas.

In the center-left, a fish pond was painted in light blue, white, and light green leaves at the center. Eight small pathways go in the building’s direction from this pond, giving it a similar shape to the sun and its rays. Human figures can be seen in the composition’s upper section. There are plenty of people on both left and right of the building’s second floor, the one on the left being covered by tree branches. People can be seen passing, but their features aren’t defined.