Image Gallery
Bedroom in Arles by Van Gogh
An 1889 oil on canvas painting, Bedroom in Arles, by Vincent van Gogh (1853-90), the Dutch post-impressionist artist. Painted in October, this was the artist's own room in the Yellow House he rented. He has painted all the contents of the room shifted towards the walls and so a central open space is left. The chairs are curiously angled towards the bed as if awaiting sitters. The furniture is often given an outline using Prussian blue. The scene has the unusual approach (but not for the artist) of showing the view from slightly above. Vincent gives the following motivation for the painting in a letter to his brother Theo:
...here everything depends on colour and by simplfying it I am lending it more style, creating an overall impression of rest or sleep. In fact, a look at the picture ought to rest the mind, or rather the imagination. (LT 554F)
(Musée d'Orsay, Paris)
Bibliography
- McQuillan, Melissa & Van Gogh, Vincent. Van Gogh . Thames & Hudson, 1989.
- Van Gogh, Vincent & de Leeuw, Ronald & Pomerans, Arnold J. The Letters of Vincent van Gogh . Penguin Classics, 1998.
- Walther, Ingo F. & Metzger, Rainer. Van Gogh. The Complete Paintings. TASCHEN, 2020.