Devoted to Vincent even after his death, in September 1889, with the help of Vincent’s friend Bernard, Theo arranged a memorial exhibition of Vincent’s works in his Paris apartment.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Arles, France February 1888-April 1889
Vincent hoped to start an artists’ colony at Arles, in the southern French town in Provence. He got a room at 10 Place Lamartine and lived there for several months while readying a studio in a place he called the Yellow House, which was also known as “The Studio of the South”. He merged his Nuenen love of painting outdoors and new use of color from his Parisian lessons learned and many beautiful paintings resulted.
The first person Vincent invited to join him in his artists’ colony was artist Paul Gauguin, whom he met in Paris in 1886. In exchange for some paintings by Gauguin, who was showing some moderate signs of commercial success, Theo paid for Gauguin’s travel to Arles, in hopes that Gauguin might have a stabilizing influence on Vincent, and he joined Vincent in October 1888. With high hopes for Gauguin’s visit, Vincent used sunflowers to decorate the Yellow House in honor of Gauguin’s arrival.
Initially, the two artists were happy to be sharing space and artistic perspectives and techniques, but tensions arose due to their enforced confinement in close proximity, due to bad weather. They argued publicly on more than one occasion, and one night in the night café, Vincent threw a glass at Paul as the two quarreled. Gauguin considered Vincent to be his inferior, and their dissension came to a head on December 23, after an argument during which Gauguin was mocking Vincent, provoking an eruption of Vincent’s precarious illness. Vincent appeared with a razor with intent to harm Gauguin, who was taking a walk in a nearby garden. Gauguin decided for safety’s sake not to spend another night in the Yellow House and took a room at a nearby inn. Back at the Yellow House, left alone in a frenzied state, Vincent severed his left earlobe with the razor and took it to a brothel where he left it to be given to a resident named Rachel, with instructions for her to “take good care of this”, then staggered home to bed, where police found him passed out the next morning.
Gauguin alerted Theo in Paris by telegram, and Theo rushed to Arles the next day, as Gauguin hied back to Paris without seeing Vincent again. Although after this incident, Vincent and Gauguin actually corresponded from time to time, they were never to meet in person again.
By January 1889, Vincent was back at “The Yellow House”, but far from well. He was suffering from hallucinations and delusions and wild mood swings. By February, the locals of Arles were alarmed and ostracizing him and drawing up a petition to have him run out of town. The children of the neighborhood chanted at him, “Give us your other ear, madman!” and some of the locals called him “fou-rou”, or crazy redhead. He wasn’t run out of town, but he was hospitalized, with occasional outings for paintings.
Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers - August 1888
The first person Vincent invited to join him in his artists’ colony was artist Paul Gauguin, whom he met in Paris in 1886. In exchange for some paintings by Gauguin, who was showing some moderate signs of commercial success, Theo paid for Gauguin’s travel to Arles, in hopes that Gauguin might have a stabilizing influence on Vincent, and he joined Vincent in October 1888. With high hopes for Gauguin’s visit, Vincent used sunflowers to decorate the Yellow House in honor of Gauguin’s arrival.
Initially, the two artists were happy to be sharing space and artistic perspectives and techniques, but tensions arose due to their enforced confinement in close proximity, due to bad weather. They argued publicly on more than one occasion, and one night in the night café, Vincent threw a glass at Paul as the two quarreled. Gauguin considered Vincent to be his inferior, and their dissension came to a head on December 23, after an argument during which Gauguin was mocking Vincent, provoking an eruption of Vincent’s precarious illness. Vincent appeared with a razor with intent to harm Gauguin, who was taking a walk in a nearby garden. Gauguin decided for safety’s sake not to spend another night in the Yellow House and took a room at a nearby inn. Back at the Yellow House, left alone in a frenzied state, Vincent severed his left earlobe with the razor and took it to a brothel where he left it to be given to a resident named Rachel, with instructions for her to “take good care of this”, then staggered home to bed, where police found him passed out the next morning.
Gauguin alerted Theo in Paris by telegram, and Theo rushed to Arles the next day, as Gauguin hied back to Paris without seeing Vincent again. Although after this incident, Vincent and Gauguin actually corresponded from time to time, they were never to meet in person again.
By January 1889, Vincent was back at “The Yellow House”, but far from well. He was suffering from hallucinations and delusions and wild mood swings. By February, the locals of Arles were alarmed and ostracizing him and drawing up a petition to have him run out of town. The children of the neighborhood chanted at him, “Give us your other ear, madman!” and some of the locals called him “fou-rou”, or crazy redhead. He wasn’t run out of town, but he was hospitalized, with occasional outings for paintings.
Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers - August 1888
Paris, France March 1886-January 1888
Vincent seldom lacked for subject matter to paint. If he ran out of models or inspiration, he might paint his version of someone else’s paintings, second or third or even fourth versions of his own paintings, and if all else failed, himself or even his shoes. He painted many self-portraits here.
Although Paris was having a tremendous influence on Vincent’s art, the tension of living with Theo combined with his own unhealthy excesses and habits and restless nature, in January 1888, Vincent decided to head south, where he found the weather more preferable.
A Pair of Shoes - Early 1887
(Also did other paintings with similar names and content in 1886)
Antwerp, Belgium November 1885-March 1886
Although feeling confident with his talents and the techniques he had developed and honed over five difficult years, Vincent came to the realization that he needed to keep up with what was going on in the art world and obtain some more formal training, so to that end, he decided to move to Antwerp in November 1885 to attend the Antwerp Academy. He bristled under the narrow and rigid approach of the instructors, and he had no patience for their by-the-book academia. Just as he had been in his theological studies, he was more interested in hands-on learning. The boldness of his methods was denigrated, and just at the time he decided to move to Paris, he was demoted to the beginners’ class, probably without being aware of it.
Skull with Burning Cigarette - Winter 1885/1886
Skull with Burning Cigarette - Winter 1885/1886
Nuenen, Netherlands December 1883-1885
Vincent went to visit his folks in their new home in Nuenen for Christmas and wound up staying for two years. Some see this period as an artistic turning point for Vincent. He painted a series of portraits of local peasants and laborers, who he began seeing as real artistic subjects and for whom he felt deep empathy and compassion for their lot in life.
He also began pushing Theo for an explanation for his (Theo’s) not making more of an attempt to sell his (Vincent’s) paintings and upbraiding him (Theo) for his criticism of Vincent’s work. At the same time, Theo was pushing Vincent to try harder to get along with their father, but those tensions still prevailed, even as Vincent tried to make allowances for his father’s not understanding because he was getting older. In letters that were minor tombs, Vincent was imploring Theo to give his understanding and emotional support, as well as support as his art broker (Theo still worked for Goupil and Cie). In 1884, they came to an agreement that Theo’s continued financial support, which never waivered even when Theo was financially strapped himself, would no longer be looked upon as a handout to a poor beggar, but rather payment for Vincent’s artistic endeavors, which he continued sending to Theo, so in effect Theo was “buying” Vincent’s works. Theo finally explained to Vincent that his paintings were becoming difficult to peddle due to the “current” trend in art being the use of brighter colors than Vincent was using.
In summer 1884, a new chapter in Vincent’s collection of bizarre romances was begun when he met his parents’ neighbor, Margo Begemann, who fell deeply in love with Vincent and received strong opposition from her family for the union. The result was that she made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide and left Vincent quite shaken up over the incident.
Pastor Van Gogh, Vincent’s father, died suddenly in March 1885 from a heart attack. Because of the long strain in their relationship, Vincent was emotionally detached and therefore only mildly distracted from his work because of the death of his father. In fact, the very next month he began working on the painting that many say is his first great masterpiece – “The Potato Eaters”.
In October 1885, he painted “Still Life with Bible and Candle”, using his father’s bible as his model. Some think this may have been a sort of tribute to his late father. By the time he left Nuene, he had amassed 194 paintings while there.
Water Mill at Kollen Near Nuenen - May 1884
He also began pushing Theo for an explanation for his (Theo’s) not making more of an attempt to sell his (Vincent’s) paintings and upbraiding him (Theo) for his criticism of Vincent’s work. At the same time, Theo was pushing Vincent to try harder to get along with their father, but those tensions still prevailed, even as Vincent tried to make allowances for his father’s not understanding because he was getting older. In letters that were minor tombs, Vincent was imploring Theo to give his understanding and emotional support, as well as support as his art broker (Theo still worked for Goupil and Cie). In 1884, they came to an agreement that Theo’s continued financial support, which never waivered even when Theo was financially strapped himself, would no longer be looked upon as a handout to a poor beggar, but rather payment for Vincent’s artistic endeavors, which he continued sending to Theo, so in effect Theo was “buying” Vincent’s works. Theo finally explained to Vincent that his paintings were becoming difficult to peddle due to the “current” trend in art being the use of brighter colors than Vincent was using.
In summer 1884, a new chapter in Vincent’s collection of bizarre romances was begun when he met his parents’ neighbor, Margo Begemann, who fell deeply in love with Vincent and received strong opposition from her family for the union. The result was that she made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide and left Vincent quite shaken up over the incident.
Pastor Van Gogh, Vincent’s father, died suddenly in March 1885 from a heart attack. Because of the long strain in their relationship, Vincent was emotionally detached and therefore only mildly distracted from his work because of the death of his father. In fact, the very next month he began working on the painting that many say is his first great masterpiece – “The Potato Eaters”.
In October 1885, he painted “Still Life with Bible and Candle”, using his father’s bible as his model. Some think this may have been a sort of tribute to his late father. By the time he left Nuene, he had amassed 194 paintings while there.
Water Mill at Kollen Near Nuenen - May 1884
Still Life with Bible and Candle - October 1885
Drenthe, Netherlands September-November 1883
Vincent moved North to Drenthe, still smarting from his break-up with Sien and fantasizing about creating an artists’ community, a fantasy which would continue throughout his last years in France. He lived first in Hoogeveen and then Nieuw Amsterdam, and visited Zweeloo while he was here, taking in and reproducing the local people and scenery. He stayed here only briefly.
Landscape with a Church at Twilight - October 1883
Landscape with a Church at Twilight - October 1883
Hague, Netherlands Jan 1882-Aug 1883
Embittered by the latest episode with his family over the Kee Voss incident, Vincent returned to the Hague, where he took up more formal studies in art. He began experimenting with oil painting here in 1882 and doing more and more work in oil in 1883.
A common misconception about Vincent is that he either sold none of his art during his lifetime, or only one painting. It may be true that he (or rather, Theo) sold only one of his paintings, but when he was in the Hague this time, he sold some sketches to Herman Tersteeg, who ran the Goupil and Co. in Den Haag, and some others. His Uncle Cornelius commissioned him to do a series of drawings of views of Den Haag. In August 1882, Theo provided money for oil paint, and Vincent started exploring that genre in earnest.
He received some reproach from Theo about the Kee Vos incident, but urged him to begin their correspondence again. Vincent replied with an inquiry as to whether he should keep his letters stiff and formal and businesslike, or if he would be allowed to continue being himself.
It was while he was here that Vincent latched onto a strange superstition, based on what he’d read about the life and death of artist Guillaume Regamey: He determined that he had roughly six to ten more years left in his life expectancy to produce as an artist, and he was obsessed with making as much of the time left to him as possible. This could be literally a self-fulfilling prophecy – as it turns out, he only had seven more years left.
Vincent became involved with and planned to marry a pregnant, down-on-her-luck prostitute named Clasina Maria Hoornik, who is more often known as Sien. At first she and her child were just models for Vincent – she was the subject in his drawing “Sorrow”, in which her dejection is fully tangible.
But soon romance blossomed. Sien accepted the unconventional Vincent with open arms, which was a soothing balm to Kee’s most recent blunt rejection, and claimed not to mind that he was down on his luck as well, in a misery-loves-company mind set. Besides being on the rebound, Vincent’s involvement with Sien could be seen as a direct flaunting of his family’s values, based on their non-support given him during the Kee Vos incident. In any case, it caused more ripples in his relationship with his family. He heard that his father was seriously considering having him committed. His response to his family’s concern for her being of a “lower class” was, “I know that what I have to do is withdraw from the company of my own class, which cast me out a long time ago, as it is.” In other words, if my class is going to cast me out, let me show them how far out I will cast myself.” A self-fulfilling prophecy, as it were.
However, Sien’s and Vincent’s open-armed acceptance of each other wasn’t enough to give Sien the strength to stand up against her mother’s demanding ways, and she and Vincent disagreed constantly about this. Also, Sien’s new baby arrived, money was tight and Theo’s contributions were now having to stretch to take care of four, resulting in one of the few “common” life experiences for Vincent -- fighting with his significant other about money. Their differences ultimately led Vincent to break off with Sien and move on.
Sorrow (drawing) 10 April 1882
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A common misconception about Vincent is that he either sold none of his art during his lifetime, or only one painting. It may be true that he (or rather, Theo) sold only one of his paintings, but when he was in the Hague this time, he sold some sketches to Herman Tersteeg, who ran the Goupil and Co. in Den Haag, and some others. His Uncle Cornelius commissioned him to do a series of drawings of views of Den Haag. In August 1882, Theo provided money for oil paint, and Vincent started exploring that genre in earnest.
He received some reproach from Theo about the Kee Vos incident, but urged him to begin their correspondence again. Vincent replied with an inquiry as to whether he should keep his letters stiff and formal and businesslike, or if he would be allowed to continue being himself.
It was while he was here that Vincent latched onto a strange superstition, based on what he’d read about the life and death of artist Guillaume Regamey: He determined that he had roughly six to ten more years left in his life expectancy to produce as an artist, and he was obsessed with making as much of the time left to him as possible. This could be literally a self-fulfilling prophecy – as it turns out, he only had seven more years left.
Vincent became involved with and planned to marry a pregnant, down-on-her-luck prostitute named Clasina Maria Hoornik, who is more often known as Sien. At first she and her child were just models for Vincent – she was the subject in his drawing “Sorrow”, in which her dejection is fully tangible.
But soon romance blossomed. Sien accepted the unconventional Vincent with open arms, which was a soothing balm to Kee’s most recent blunt rejection, and claimed not to mind that he was down on his luck as well, in a misery-loves-company mind set. Besides being on the rebound, Vincent’s involvement with Sien could be seen as a direct flaunting of his family’s values, based on their non-support given him during the Kee Vos incident. In any case, it caused more ripples in his relationship with his family. He heard that his father was seriously considering having him committed. His response to his family’s concern for her being of a “lower class” was, “I know that what I have to do is withdraw from the company of my own class, which cast me out a long time ago, as it is.” In other words, if my class is going to cast me out, let me show them how far out I will cast myself.” A self-fulfilling prophecy, as it were.
However, Sien’s and Vincent’s open-armed acceptance of each other wasn’t enough to give Sien the strength to stand up against her mother’s demanding ways, and she and Vincent disagreed constantly about this. Also, Sien’s new baby arrived, money was tight and Theo’s contributions were now having to stretch to take care of four, resulting in one of the few “common” life experiences for Vincent -- fighting with his significant other about money. Their differences ultimately led Vincent to break off with Sien and move on.
Sorrow (drawing) 10 April 1882
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