Arles, France: Van Gogh's "Le Jardin de la Maison de Sante a Arles"
One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Arles is because Van Gogh had lived and painted there. Arles has done an excellent job of putting up markers around town in the form of concrete easels showing a copy of the painting in the setting and direction where Van Gogh painted it. This location is now called the Espace Van Gogh, but was the psychiatric hospital where Van Gogh admitted himself after having a fight with his friend Paul Gaugin and chasing him with a straight razor. Van Gogh then cut off either his ear or according another source, just his earlobe, but either way, Paul Gaugin left town. While in the hospital, Van Gogh painted the famous painting. The courtyard has been maintained with the same colors and mostly the same types of plants as when Van Gogh painted the "Le Jardin." According to one source, the Arlesians were so frightened of Van Gogh that they signed a petition to have him committed to a psychiatric hospital in another town. He left Arles in 1889 after having been there for about 15 months and painting over 300 paintings. After then moving to another hospital, he shot himself in the chest and died two days later. While Van Gogh is recognized as one of the greatest painters ever, he apparently only sold one painting during his lifetime. In walking around Arles and driving around the countryside, it was both exciting to be in the same spots where Van Gogh had worked and to look at the same scenes, but it was also depressing to think that such a great artist was never recognized in his lifetime. We stood on the spot where he painted "Starry Night" and even though it was daytime, it brought back the memory of seeing the original painting in New York and then again when it was on loan to the Houston Museum of Art. Unfortunately there isn't a single Van Gogh painting in Arles. Nothing left but the memories of someone the Arlesians asked to leave town.
Arles, France: Van Gogh's "Le Jardin de la Maison de Sante a Arles"
One of the main reasons we wanted to visit Arles is because Van Gogh had lived and painted there. Arles has done an excellent job of putting up markers around town in the form of concrete easels showing a copy of the painting in the setting and direction where Van Gogh painted it. This location is now called the Espace Van Gogh, but was the psychiatric hospital where Van Gogh admitted himself after having a fight with his friend Paul Gaugin and chasing him with a straight razor. Van Gogh then cut off either his ear or according another source, just his earlobe, but either way, Paul Gaugin left town. While in the hospital, Van Gogh painted the famous painting. The courtyard has been maintained with the same colors and mostly the same types of plants as when Van Gogh painted the "Le Jardin." According to one source, the Arlesians were so frightened of Van Gogh that they signed a petition to have him committed to a psychiatric hospital in another town. He left Arles in 1889 after having been there for about 15 months and painting over 300 paintings. After then moving to another hospital, he shot himself in the chest and died two days later. While Van Gogh is recognized as one of the greatest painters ever, he apparently only sold one painting during his lifetime. In walking around Arles and driving around the countryside, it was both exciting to be in the same spots where Van Gogh had worked and to look at the same scenes, but it was also depressing to think that such a great artist was never recognized in his lifetime. We stood on the spot where he painted "Starry Night" and even though it was daytime, it brought back the memory of seeing the original painting in New York and then again when it was on loan to the Houston Museum of Art. Unfortunately there isn't a single Van Gogh painting in Arles. Nothing left but the memories of someone the Arlesians asked to leave town.