An exhibition of the latest paintings by Vincent van Gogh will be presented in Amsterdam and then in Paris. During his surprisingly productive period from May to July 1890, in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, he made one painting a day. Then, on July 27, he committed suicide, dying two days later.
This will be the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Van Gogh’s period in Auvers, 30 km northwest of Paris. Van Gogh in Auvers: his last months claims that his work there was just as important as his better-known paintings painted in sunny Provence.
The Van Gogh Museum and the Musée d’Orsay managed to borrow 48 of the 74 paintings he made in Auvers, as well as 25 of the 57 drawings (he also filled a small notebook with sketches). Van Gogh loans are always very difficult to obtain, so this represents an amazing success.
Van Gogh’s self-portrait from 1889, from the collection of Paul Gachet, the artist’s doctor in Auvers
Photo: Patrice Schmidt; © Musée d’Orsay, Dist; RMN-Grand Palais
Among the featured images on display will be Portrait of Dr. Paul Gachet (from the collection of the Musée d’Orsay), Church of Auvers (Orsay Museum), Farms in Auvers (Finnish National Gallery) and Wheat field with crows (Van Gogh Museum). There will also rarely be loans from private collections, such as Glass with carnations And The fields.
The particularity is that the Musée d’Orsay lends to Amsterdam all the Van Goghs donated by the son of Paul Gachet in 1949-54. In accordance with his wishes, these images are almost never loaned out. In addition to the seven paintings by Gachet Auvers, the most beautiful self-portrait of Van Gogh, made in 1889 at the asylum and later presented to the doctor, will also be loaned.
years of research
Van Gogh only produced 13 large “double-square” paintings – measuring 1m by 50cm – during his career, all of them in Auvers. Eleven of them will be brought together in the exhibition, including tree rootsnow considered his last painting, made a few hours before shooting himself in the head.
Preparations for the exhibition required years of research, including the best possible estimate of the dates of the 74 paintings. It will add enormously to the scholarship, and the exhibition should give a vivid impression of how Van Gogh’s work evolved during the last weeks of his life.
tree roots (1890) is one of 74 paintings that Van Gogh made during the last three months of his life, in Auvers-sur-Oise
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; Vincent van Gogh Foundation
Most of the sites where the images were painted have been located. While Van Gogh produced portraits and still lifes of flowers, it was in landscapes that he excelled. His panoramic views of the wheat fields above the Oise Valley are among his most memorable works.
Despite feelings of failure, loneliness and melancholy, Van Gogh continued to work. The painting represented a form of therapy, giving him a purpose in life. Unfortunately, his efforts went unnoticed, at least in terms of sales, during his lifetime. We know that he sold only one identified painting in his entire career. How different now :Vace with poppies and daisieswhich comes on loan, sold for $62 million in 2014.
Murder versus suicide
The exhibition catalog deals with the recent theory that Van Gogh did not die by suicide but was murdered. In a detailed rebuttal, the organizers dismiss this as “totally unfounded”. They argue that “when a person feels compelled to end their life, they at least deserve to be heard with empathy.”
Auvers retains much of its distinctive 19th century atmosphere in its narrow streets. The inn where Vincent stayed, which became Van Gogh’s House, has just reopened to visitors for the season. You can enter the empty attic where the artist worked and died. Climbing the stairs, one inevitably thinks of the last time Vincent dragged himself painfully to his bed, suffering from the bullet lodged in his abdomen and tired of living.
• Van Gogh in Auvers: his last months, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 12 May-3 September; Musée d’Orsay, Paris, October 3-February 4, 2024
