The Fall of the Leaves by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

The Fall of the Leaves, by Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh

In Vincent van Gogh's The Fall of the Leaves, a solitary figure wanders through tall trees, their yellow leaves dotting the space around him. The painting captures the moment when change is palpable in the crisp air--when we are reminded to revel in the golden hues of our surroundings to prepare for the somber tones ahead. Few specifics are known about this work, on view at Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum and one of 150 paintings that the artist completed during his voluntary yearlong stay at a psychiatric hospital in St.-Rémy-de-Provence (shortly before his suicide). But its hushed reverie brings to mind the words of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, describing the delicate shift that occurs both in us and about us at this time of year:

"Go, sit upon the lofty hill, / And turn your eyes around, / Where waving woods and waters wild / Do hymn an autumn sound. / The summer sun is faint on them-- / The summer flowers depart-- / Sit still--as all transform'd to stone, / Except your musing heart."