Van Gogh was so incredibly productive that, while in Arles and in Saint-Remy, he produced some 500 works; so it’s always seemed sad that there was, until recently, only one of his paintings in Provence (in Avignon). Two more have arrived (one in Aix and one loan in Arles), but this month there are another 31 in town at the Fondation Van Gogh in Arles, so let’s enjoy them while we can!
The exhibition ‘Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition’ brings together 31 paintings from the collections of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.
The exhibition begins with his early work done in Holland – dark and sombre – as he paints peasants in the fields and their vegetables on the table. Throughout his life, we learn, he had little money and had to turn to whatever was around him as subjects for his art. And then Paris he sees the impressionists and Japanese woodcuts for the first
time. He begins to paint fresh flowers and absinthe in a café. Even his self-portrait style changes and lightens.
Then he arrives in Arles and his paintings are bathed in colour, light and more forceful brush-strokes.
This is one of the final paintings, a lovely composition with his beloved irises in the foreground and the town of Arles behind.
The exhibition is quite small if you are used to going to see blockbuster shows in London or Paris, but it’s relatively uncrowded and a good opportunity to enjoy each and every picture in peace.
‘Van Gogh en Provence’ is on show daily, 11-19:00, at the Fondation Van Gogh in Arles.
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