Cypresses was painted in late June 1889, shortly after Van Gogh began his yearlong stay at the asylum in Saint-Remy. The subject, which he found beautiful as regards lines and proportions, like an Egyptian obelisk, both captivated and challenged the artist: It's the dark patch in a sun-drenched landscape, but it's one of the most interesting dark notes, the most difficult to hit off exactly that I can imagine. One of two close-up views of the very tall and massive trees in a vertical format (the other is in the Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo), Cypresses was shown in the 1890 Salon des Independants.