Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh Self PortraitVincent van Gogh lived and worked in Provence only briefly: for just over a year towards the end of his life. But he produced his very greatest art in this short time, in an incredible burst of creative fervour.

If you want to explore Provence in Vincent’s footsteps, you'll find the main sites in Arles and in nearby Saint Rémy de Provence.

Click here to read about a self-guided walk through Arles, where you can discover Café Terrace at Night and other scenes he painted, and compare them to these sites as they are today.

Click here to find out about the Fondation Vincent van Gogh, an art foundation in Arles inspired by his spirit. It doesn't own any of his work in its permanent collection but always has at least one painting on loan, and a larger exhibition inspired by him each summer.

In Saint Rémy, the go-to site is Saint Paul de Mausole, the monastery turned psychiatric clinic where the tormented artist fled in a vain search for inner peace.

van gogh walk saint remySaint Rémy also has its own self-guided walk through the surrounding countryside, pictured, past the olive groves and other landscapes van Gogh painted there.

And, if you're in Avignon, don't miss the Musée Angladon. It owns one of the very few paintings by van Gogh on permanent display in Provence – and a very fine piece it is too.

Click here to buy The Letters of Vincent van Gogh, here to buy The Yellow House by the art critic Martin Gayford, an account of van Gogh's tumultuous nine weeks in Arles with Paul Gauguin, here to buy Van Gogh's Ear by Bernadette Murphy, a new look at the facts behind the notorious ear-severing incident and here to buy Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum, a heart-breaking insight into the everyday details of the artist's final year.

 

kirk douglas lust for lifeVincent van Gogh's life was so dramatic, and his art so enduring, that it's hardly surprising so many movies have been made about him. Top actors and directors have been drawn to his story again and again.

van gogh house london blue plaqueVincent van Gogh lived briefly in England in 1873-1874 - and today you can still visit the elegant Georgian end terrace house in Brixton, South London, where he found lodgings.

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