Commentary: Arles

Vincent van Gogh The Yellow House ("The Street") September 1888 oil on canvas Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

The energy, activity, and bustle of Paris that had originally drawn Van Gogh to the city eventually drove him to leave. Although he had thrived in Paris and enjoyed living with his brother Theo and interacting with other artists, Van Gogh also recognized that the drinking and bohemian lifestyle he had embraced was taking its toll. Feeling overwhelmed, nervous, and uncomfortable, he decided that he needed a change and a rest.

Once Van Gogh determined to move, he chose the antithesis of Paris: Arles was a sleepy little town in the heart of Provence, in the south of France. Vincent arrived there in February of 1888. Arles had a Mediterranean climate and boasted sunflowers and glowing wheatfields. The light in Arles was immensely different from that in Paris or in the Netherlands: vibrant, lush, dazzling. It provided a dramatic contrast to everywhere Van Gogh had lived before, and he was completely entranced. The beauty of the environment helped restore him immediately, and he began to paint prolifically during this period.

He painted within the town of Arles and throughout the countryside, working constantly -- soon to the detriment of his health. He would paint for five days without sleeping. He would subsist on coffee and dry bread because he did not want to pull himself away from his art. This feverish pace might have been the first sign of things to come: the intensity was extreme; Van Gogh was too caught up in his art and its creation.

Despite his frenetic pace, Van Gogh's work from this period is masterful and controlled. The Yellow House, painted in September 1888, is one example. This work depicts Van Gogh's home, on a quiet corner in Arles, with wide streets and only a few figures present at right and left. He creates an effect of serene isolation out of vibrant, contrasting colors. The house is a vivid yellow form, and the green shutters and door, along with what Vincent called "a sky of pure cobalt," heighten the tonality.

The influence of Japanese prints is evident in this beautiful painting, particularly in the flattening of forms. The house is defined basically as two flat planes of color: bright yellow on the front facing the viewer and a lighter tone on the right side. The form seems solid and geometric, but there is little use of shadow or the traditional modeling of light and dark. And Van Gogh paid scant attention to the activity of the brush. He created spatial effects as he had seen in Japanese prints through stark, linear perspective and contrasting colors. Japanese influence is also present in the tilting up of planes, which evokes space rather than giving a convincing illusion of three-dimensionality and depth as seen in Western art.

Van Gogh enjoyed the solitude of Arles, but even before he arrived, he had dreamed of establishing an artists' community there. He based his idea on his knowledge of artist colonies in Japan and on the fact that his friends Bernard and Gauguin had been part of an artistic commune in Brittany, at Pont Aven. He thought Arles would be ideal. It was quiet, peaceful, inexpensive, and decidedly picturesque. Van Gogh sent a number of letters to both Bernard and Gauguin, trying to convince them to join him there. He offered rhapsodic accounts of the beauty of Arles and how wonderful it would be. Ultimately, only Gauguin came to Arles, and his stay marks one of the most notorious events in Van Gogh's life.

Gauguin had been living for some time in Martinique, and he returned to Paris in 1888, broke and ill. Van Gogh's brother Theo, who had purchased some of Gauguin's art, encouraged Gauguin to go to Arles. He made arrangements to give Gauguin an allowance of 150 francs a month in exchange for twelve paintings a year. Although not enthusiastic, Gauguin recognized that these monthly payments and the sale of other works would enable him to save money and return to Martinique, which was his ultimate goal.

Van Gogh was delighted at the prospect of Gauguin's coming and entered another flurry of activity, preparing his home for his friend's arrival. He produced a number of extraordinary paintings, including a series of seven canvases of sunflowers, which he intended to hang in the house. The sunflowers are among Van Gogh's most familiar works. To the artist they embodied richness, abundance, and vitality -- the mood he wanted to create for Gauguin.

previous | next | image overview Commentary | Activities | Study Sources | Pronunciation Guide