Looking at Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass

I can't post this wonderful painting by Van Gogh so you'll have to google it. There are many versions online.

What is the subject? The almond branch, of course. The idea? I think that the idea is dominated by a strong vertical. This feels to me like newly awakened life from the dead of winter. The concept is a still life in the shape of a cross. This is an example of angular composition.

The warm red line anchors the composition.  The vertical line is typically the strongest line in a painting. In this painting Van Gogh boldly made the horizontal line the strongest Why did he do that? The second horizontal is almost directly in the middle of the painting. A line most painters avoid. Imagine the painting without the red line. It will not compose withing the frame. The red line opposes and balances the whole composition. An extremely attractive solution.

Notice that the red is not only found in the line but relates to the painting in the flower and his signature. His signature is part of the design. He also used red to make the sumptuous grays in the background. Next take a look at how he spread the yellow and the blue through the picture. He used a warm yellow in the front with uneven rhythmical horizontal lines. He anchored the glass to the right side with dashes of blue indicating a shadow. and then cooled the yellow with a touch of green behind the glass. He seems to have followed a simple rule that many colorists use: to repeat a color at least three times. At first glance, we see the green as a compliment to the red on the branch. It is also in the glass and cooling the yellow.  He may have used it in the grays of the background.

Van Gogh may have been an intuitive painter but intuition comes only after years of study and practice.