In Vincent van Gogh’s paintings, the flame-like cypresses tower, as he described them, “tall and massive”. Enlarged beyond their natural size, they dominate the scene, forming a vivid bridge between earth and sky, the tangible and the eternal. The earth represents the material world, while the sky, linked by van Gogh to dreams, suggests infinite imagination. Thus, the cypresses signify more than a vertical thrust; they trace a passage from outward reality to inner articulation, from objective depiction to subjective expression.

In van Gogh’s artwork, objects transcended their original meanings and became allegories or symbols. The cypresses painted by van Gogh were not only trees but also a projection of van Gogh himself. “Tall and massive” in comparison to their surroundings, they are different but, at the same time, lonely. Today, van Gogh is recognized as a “giant” and a pioneer in art history. During his lifetime, however, his work received little recognition and was often considered incomprehensible, causing the artist great mental distress. For van Gogh, art — like true love — was “lofty” and “sacred.” He often visualized it as a starry sky, a realm he linked to religion and dreams. Notably, he rarely placed cypresses at the center of his canvases; instead, they stand to one side or the other, alone or in clusters, as if guarding that shimmering heaven imbued with divine significance. It was a love he pursued but perhaps never fully fulfilled. On 27th July 1890, van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver; two days later he died at the age of 37, leaving over 850 paintings and 1300 works on paper behind.