Van Gogh’s last paintings go on show in Amsterdam and Paris

An exhibition of Vincent van Gogh’s remaining work is to be offered in Amsterdam after which Paris. Throughout his astonishingly productive interval from Might to July 1890, within the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, he accomplished an image a day. Then, on 27 July, he shot himself, dying two days later.

This would be the first complete present dedicated to Van Gogh’s interval in Auvers, which lies 30km north-west of Paris. Van Gogh in Auvers: His Ultimate Months units out to argue that his work there was simply as necessary as his better-known photos painted in sunny Provence.

The Van Gogh Museum and the Musée d’Orsay have succeeded in borrowing 48 of the 74 work that he accomplished in Auvers, together with 25 of the 57 drawings (he additionally crammed a small pocket book with tough sketches). Loans of Van Goghs are at all times very tough to safe, so this represents an astonishing success.

Amongst key photos on show will likely be Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet (from the Musée d’Orsay assortment), Church at Auvers (Musée d’Orsay), Farmhouses in Auvers (Finnish Nationwide Gallery) and Wheatfield with Crows (Van Gogh Museum). There may also be not often seen loans from personal collections, similar to Glass with Carnations and The Fields.

What’s particular is that the Musée d’Orsay is lending to Amsterdam all of the Van Goghs donated by the son of Paul Gachet in 1949-54. In accordance together with his needs, these photos are nearly by no means lent. Alongside with the seven Gachet Auvers work, Van Gogh’s most interesting self-portrait, achieved in 1889 on the asylum and later offered to the physician, may also be loaned.

Years of analysis

Van Gogh made solely 13 massive “double-square” work—measuring 1m by 50cm—throughout his profession, all in Auvers. Eleven of those will likely be introduced collectively within the exhibition, together with Tree Roots, now deemed to be his remaining portray, achieved just a few hours earlier than he shot himself.

Preparations for the exhibition required years of analysis, which included making the very best estimate of the dates for all 74 work. It will add enormously to scholarship, and the show ought to present a vivid impression of how Van Gogh’s work advanced throughout the remaining weeks of his life.

A lot of the websites the place the images had been painted have been situated. Though Van Gogh made portraits and flower still-lifes, it was with landscapes that he excelled. His panoramic views of the wheatfields above the Oise valley are amongst his most memorable works.

Regardless of battling emotions of failure, loneliness and melancholy, Van Gogh continued to work. Portray represented a type of remedy, giving him a goal in life. Sadly, his efforts went unrecognised, no less than by way of gross sales, throughout his lifetime. He’s solely identified to have offered a single recognized portray in his total profession. How completely different it’s now: Vase with Poppies and Daisies, which is approaching mortgage, offered for $62m in 2014.

Homicide vs suicide

The exhibition catalogue offers with the latest idea that Van Gogh didn’t die by suicide however was murdered. In an in depth rebuttal, the organisers dismiss this as “fully unfounded”. They argue that “when an individual feels compelled to finish their very own life, the least they deserve is to be heard with empathy”.

Auvers retains a lot of its distinctive Nineteenth-century ambiance in its again streets. The inn the place Vincent lodged, now the Maison de Van Gogh, has simply reopened to guests for the season. One can step into the empty garret room the place the artist labored—and died. Climbing the steps, one inevitably thinks of the final time that Vincent trudged as much as his mattress, in nice ache from the bullet lodged in his stomach and weary of life.

• Van Gogh in Auvers: His Ultimate Months, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 12 Might-3 September; Musée d’Orsay, Paris, 3 October-4 February 2024