After years of strained relations with family members, Van Gogh excitedly shared some of his works he thought his mother would appreciate most, of flowers and natural settings.

It was painted at almost the same time, and with a very similar palette of colours and pose as his Self Portrait (Dedicated to Paul Gauguin) Anna Carbentus van Gogh was an amateur artist who enjoyed making drawings of plants and flowers[1] and was a "keen watercolorist".

[1] Anna and Theodorus devotedly served the rural communities in which they were stationed; their actions modeled their religious beliefs.

Theodorus van Gogh's favorite poet, Reverend Bernard ter Haar wrote in the poem "Song of Praise to Creation":[5] At the age of eleven Van Gogh was sent to boarding schools for training, which initiated his lifelong feelings of exile.

Van Gogh's manner of dress, behavior and unusual love life was unsettling and embarrassing to the family.

To his brother, Theo he wrote "I can't settle into Father's and Mother's system, it is too stifling and would suffocate me."

He continues, "I find Father and Mother's sermons and ideas about God, people, morality and virtue a lot of stuff and nonsense.

Van Gogh's mother appears to be a respectable middle-class woman, attentive and proud, against a green background.