 In May 1889 , Van Gogh voluntarily entered the asylum of St. Paul near Saint @-@ Rémy in Provence . There he had access to an adjacent cell he used as his studio . He was initially confined to the immediate asylum grounds and painted ( without the window bars ) the world he saw from his room , such as ivy covered trees , lilacs , and irises in the garden . As he ventured outside of the asylum walls , he painted the wheat fields , olive groves , and cypress trees in the surrounding countryside , which he saw as " characteristic of Provence . " Over the course of the year , he painted about 150 canvases . 
