On 8 May 1889, Van Gogh agreed to be committed to the Asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in the nearby town of Saint-Rémy, at the suggestion of his friend Pastor Salles.
Van Gogh was placed under the care of the asylum director, Dr. Peyron, and was granted a ground-floor room. His greatest fear was that he would not be allowed to continue to paint, leaving him unable to contribute to his brother Theo’s 100-franc monthly rent. But within the month he had resumed painting. Irises was among the first to be completed. Its black contours are reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints, which were produced at the turn of the 17th century and influenced many artists of the time, including Van Gogh. These contours reinforce the expressive power of the painting.
Exhibited in 1889 at the Salon des Independents, Irises was later sold to Octave Mirbeau for 300 francs in 1892, two years after Van Gogh’s death.