Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Someday, he thinks, the seeds he's planting will grow into some-
thing great, like the tree that slashes diagonally across the scene—
tough and craggy, but with small, optimistic blossoms.
In his younger years, Vincent had worked in Belgium sow-
ing the Christian gospel in a harsh environment (see Mark 4:1-9).
Now in Arles, ignited by the sun, he cast his artistic seeds to the
wind, hoping.
• Continue into the next room. Note that paintings featured in the rest
of this tour are shifted around a lot. hey'll probably be displayed...but
likely in a different order.
St. Rémy (May 1889-1890): The Mental
Hospital
The people of Arles realized they had a madman on their hands. A
doctor diagnosed “acute mania with hallucinations,” and the local
vicar talked Vincent into admitting himself to a mental hospital.
Vincent wrote to Theo: “Temporarily I wish to remain shut up, as
much for my own peace of mind as for other people's.”
In the mental hospital, Vincent continued to paint whenever
he was well enough. He often couldn't go out, so he copied from
books, making his own distinctive versions of works by Rembrandt,
Delacroix, Millet, and others.
We see a change from bright, happy landscapes to more intro-
spective subjects. The colors are less bright and more surreal, the
brushwork even more furious. The strong outlines of figures are
twisted and tortured.
Pietà,
after Delacroix (1889)
It's evening after a thunderstorm. Jesus has been crucified, and
the corpse lies at the mouth of a tomb. Mary, whipped by the
cold wind, holds her empty arms out in
despair and confusion. She is the tender
mother who receives us all in death, as
though saying, “My child, you've been
away so long—rest in my arms.” Christ
has a Vincent-esque red beard.
At f irst, the peace and quiet of
the asylum did Vincent good, and his
health improved. Occasionally, he was
allowed outside to paint the gardens
and landscapes. Meanwhile, the paint-
ings he had sent to Theo began to attract attention in Paris for the
first time. A woman in Brussels bought one of his canvases—the
only painting he ever sold during his lifetime. In 1987, a
Sunflowers
sold for $40 million. Three years later a portrait of Vincent's doctor
sold for more than $80 million.
