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From the Publisher
A Note To The Reader
Vincent van Gogh lived at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, just outside the town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, from 8 May 1889 to 16 May 1890. The place-names are normally shortened in this book to Saint-Paul and Saint-Rémy. Endnotes give the sources of quotations, along with additional information. Frequently cited sources in the notes have abbreviated references, with the full references in the Select Bibliography. Van Gogh’s letters are numbered from the definitive 2009 edition, Vincent van Gogh – The Letters: The Complete Illustrated and Annotated Edition, edited by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker (www.vangoghletters.org), with the Saint-Rémy letters in vol. v. Van Gogh’s paintings are identified by the ‘F’ numbers from the 1970 catalogue raisonné by Jacob-Baart de la Faille, The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Unless otherwise specified, illustrated works are by Van Gogh.
Garden of the Asylum, May 1889, oil on canvas, Kröller- Müller Museum, Otterlo
Vincent ‘spends the whole day drawing in the park’, Dr Peyron reported back to Theo two weeks after his arrival.9 Garden of the Asylum, another of the early works, shows the men’s block partially framing the trees and garden. Van Gogh’s bedroom was in the east wing (the building straight ahead in the painting) and he was given a second room for his studio in the north wing (on the left). The dense trees appear to crowd around the block, creating a verdant although slightly claustrophobic effect. Pleased with the painting, the artist signed it in a corner – one of only seven pictures from Saint-Paul with his signature.
Window in the Studio, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
The artist invites us to step inside this room in Window in the Studio, its subject emphasising Van Gogh’s tenuous link with nature and the outside world. Surprisingly, the window is firmly closed, although in October, when it was painted, the temperature would normally be as pleasant as the blue sky suggests. Perhaps a mistral was blowing and had kept him indoors or possibly he wanted to underline his feeling of separation from outside life. Whatever the reason, the mood of the interior, with its ochres and greys, contrasts with the lively colours beyond the panes.
Corridor in the Asylum, 1889, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (F1529)
In contrast to his intimate studio picture, Corridor in the Asylum sweeps down the full length of the ground floor of the north wing.19 In the bottomright corner is the base of the staircase leading to the upper level, where Van Gogh had his studio. A man, most likely a fellow patient, turns to enter one of the rooms overlooking the garden. But the painting’s most striking feature is the sheer length of the corridor, which was 100 metres long. Although this tunnel-like feature may appear oppressive, it sparked off an intriguing thought in Van Gogh’s imagination. If it were possible to move the building somewhere else, he wrote, its ‘big corridors’ would make a magnificent place to exhibit art.
More from Martin Bailey
MARTIN BAILEY is a leading specialist on Van Gogh and an arts journalist. He is a London-based correspondent for The Art Newspaper. Bailey has curated several exhibitions on Van Gogh including one at Tate Britain in 2019. His most recent books include:
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Van Gogh at the Asylum
The Story of Van Gogh’s Masterpiece
The homes and landscapes that shaped the artist
Van Gogh in Provence
Auvers and the artist’s rise to fam
Publisher : Frances Lincoln (August 30, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 0711277311
ISBN-13 : 978-0711277311
Item Weight : 1.54 pounds
Dimensions : 7.65 x 1 x 9.7 inches
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