The Yellow House – Vincent rented the upstairs bedrooms of this corner house with green shutters.
VINCENT VAN GOGH had a magnetic attraction to the landscapes, people, and buildings in Arles and nearby St. Rémy, France. The pastoral beauty of the landscapes in the south of France, along its famous quality of light and the tall, elegant cypress trees, vast fields of wheat, and the swirling clouds all dancing the strong winds. Vincent’s subjects here included the moon and the stars as he applied his fervent brushstrokes of raw and intense color.
Van Gogh’s keen eye captured the luminous sunlight that bathed the landscapes, infusing his works with an almost otherworldly glow. One of his “Starry Night” paintings shows the Rhône river (which flowed near the yellow house where he painted “Bedroom at Arles”) exemplifying his ability to paint that moisture-rich atmospheric nightscape. The swirling blues and radiant yellows must have mirrored Van Gogh’s experience as he worked to capture what he was experiencing at that exact moment.
Van Gogh’s fascination with the energy and spirit of his subjects is immortalized on his canvases, forever capturing the emotional journey he lived through during his time in Arles and St. Rémy. He fought with Gauguin, cut off his ear, spent time in the Arles hospital, and ultimately checked himself into the asylum in St. Rémy, an institution not too different from a prison where they locked him in every night.
Moving to St. Rémy, Van Gogh checked himself into a mental institution, a recommendation by his doctor, after he cut off part of his ear. There his art became a poignant reflection of his mental uncertainty and periods of turmoil. The institution allowed him to roam the nearby roads and fields to paint the landscapes, and the St. Rémy area was the inspiration for two of his most iconic paintings, “Starry Starry Night” and “Cypress Trees.”
Art historians rank Van Gogh high on the list of best artists in art history, and almost anyone who finds joy in art, seems to love Vincent Van Gogh’s work. everyone seems to feel what Vincent felt when viewing his unique paintings.
FROM THE EDITOR:
As the author of this article, I recently had the pleasure of visiting Arles and St. Rémy, experiencing all of the landscapes, buildings, gardens, and hospitals that still exist. Through this experience, I realized that Van Gogh’s swirling forms and bold brush strokes must have been intended to convey the constant strong winds present in this area. Both the intensity of the scene in front of him and his personal anxiety added to the majesty of his landscapes. The cypress trees reaching towards the heavens, all the while swirling in the unseen wind, also echo the artist’s yearning for spiritual solace, he was trying mightily to be a great painter, but the art world never embraced him or his art. Although his brother Theo was an art dealer and Vincent’s greatest encourager and supporter, Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime.
I have included some of my own ink and brush sketches done in my style, but the subject matter was the same as Vincent saw in front of him.
