Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, St. Remy and Auvers, 1888-1890 PART III

In May 1890, after spending a year at the asylum in St. Remy, Van Gogh left Provence and moved to Normandy.  He wanted to be closer to his brother Theo, but he felt life in Paris would be too stressful. On the advice of fellow painter Camille Pissarro, Van Gogh found lodging in the small hamlet of Auvers-sur-Oise about 20 miles from Paris in the countryside. This would be Van Gogh’s last home.

           Vineyards with a View of Auvers, 1890, oil on canvas, Vincent Van Gogh.

Auvers was the home of painter Charles Francois Daubigny who built a house and studio there in 1857.  Cezanne, Monet, Pissarro, Daubigny, Corot and Gauguin were among the many artists who have portrayed the village of Auvers.  Now Van Gogh would paint the charming village full of thatched roof cottages and beautiful gardens.  Van Gogh would write, “Auvers is decidedly very beautiful.”

                     Daubigny's Garden, 1890, oil on canvas, Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh lived in Auvers the last 70 days of his life.  It was his most prolific time; he created 75 paintings and 50 drawings.  His subjects included the local landscape, gardens, Daubigny’s home and gardens, the town church, wheat fields and portraits of his physician Dr. Gachet, his family and other friends.

                            Vincent Van Gogh's room at the Ravoux Inn in Auvers.

Van Gogh lived in a small cell like room at the Ravoux Inn.  The inn and its café have been restored and are open to the public.  Van Gogh’s room was a small cell like space on the third floor illuminated by a small window.

                        Church at Auvers, 1890, oil on canvas, Vincent Van Gogh

On July 29, 1890 Van Gogh died of a gun shot wound to the chest, he was 37 years old. Van Gogh is buried in the cemetery in Auvers long side his brother Theo, who passed away six months later.

The National Gallery of Art recently acquired one of Van Gogh’s last paintings.  This stunning canvas, called Green Wheat Fields, Auvers bears the hallmaks of Van Gogh’s work- brilliant palette, rich impasto and energetic brushwork.

               Green Wheat Fields, Auvers, 1890, oil on canvas, Vincent Van Gogh

To learn more about visiting Auvers and the House and Studio of Vincent Van Gogh visit http://www.maisondevangogh.fr/en/.