Van Gogh’s colors have changed over time

Some red pigments in Vincent van Gogh’s paintings have faded in light. In The Bedroom, Arles, the walls and doors he described to his brother Theo as pale violet now look blue; the floor he intended as red tiles appears pale purple-grey. The Metropolitan Museum of Art links fading red pigments in Irises to the flowers shifting from violet toward blue and the background from pink toward paler tones.