After Vincent van Gogh died, his work got a new lease on life. During his lifetime, Vincent had sent paintings and drawings to his brother Theo in the hope that Theo would be able to sell them. The works would then serve to pay Theo back for all the help he had given Vincent in providing him with a monthly …
Le Tambourin was a restaurant and cabaret at 62 Boulevard de Clichy in Montmartre that was popular with artists. It was run by the Italian Agostina Segatori (1841–1910), with whom Vincent had an affair. He gave her floral still lifes to display in the café, hoping people would buy them, but no one did. When Le Tambourin went bankrupt in …
Siegfried Bing (1838–1905) dealt in Chinese and Japanese art and applied art at his shop on Rue Chauchat. Vincent went there often; he had become interested in Japanese prints in Antwerp and had gradually begun collecting them. He expanded his collection substantially while in Paris. More than a hobby, the prints served as a major source of inspiration for his …
Vincent gave drawing and painting lessons to Paul Eugène Milliet (1863–1943). Milliet was second lieutenant in the third regiment of the Zouaves, a light infantry corps. The regiment was stationed at the Caserne Calvin barracks in Arles. Vincent probably met Milliet in early June 1888. In order to teach him properly, Vincent asked his brother Theo in Paris to look …
On Sunday 27 January 1889, Vincent visited the Folies-Arlésiennes, a theatre and dance hall on Rue Victor Hugo. He went to see a company from Marseille perform the play La Pastorale. He found the performance “amazing” and was particularly impressed by one actress. Vincent enjoyed the outing and wrote to his brother that it had benefited his sleep: “It was …
Vincent made friends with the train station’s postal official Joseph Etienne Roulin (1841–1903), who lived nearby with his family. In July 1888, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo: “Now I’m working with another model, a postman in a blue uniform with gold trimmings, a big, bearded face, very Socratic. […] A more interesting man than many people.” Read the complete …
In mid-May 1888, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he had found a better restaurant where he could eat for a franc every night. He was referring to Vénissac on Place Lamartine, next door to his own hotel, the Café de la Gare. It must have been a welcome change; Vincent had complained about the bad food in Arles: …
On 7 May 1889, Vincent took a room at the Café de la Gare on Place Lamartine at a rate of one franc per night. He had recently begun using the Yellow House as a studio. Even though Vincent became friendly with the café’s owners, Joseph and Marie Ginoux, it did not stop him from arguing with them over his …
During his first two months in Arles, Vincent stayed in a room at the Carrel hotel-restaurant, owned by Albert Carrel and his wife, Cathérine Carrel-Garcin. The hotel was a two-storey building with a small roof terrace and a first-floor balcony. Shortly after arriving in Arles, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo: “At times it seems to me that my blood …
On 1 May 1889, Vincent rented part of a yellow stucco faced building on the Place Lamartine in Arles at a rate of 15 francs per month. Initially using it as a studio, he began living there too on 1 September. Vincent nicknamed the building the Yellow House and planned to abundantly decorate its interior with his own paintings. Vincent …
In Paris, Vincent van Gogh befriended Harry Gladwell (1857–1927), the son of Henry William Gladwell, owner of the Gladwell Gallery in London. Vincent often stopped there when he was in London. The art gallery was established in the mid-eighteenth century and was run by the Gladwell family until Harry’s son Algernon sold it in 1951.
Vincent van Gogh’s sister Anna also came to London in July 1874; they lived together at the Loyers’ boarding house. Vincent was delighted by Anna’s move: “I’d like so much to get to know her better than I do, for in the last few years we’ve actually seen very little of each other, and we only half know each other.” …
When Vincent lived in Isleworth, he attended the Monday evening prayer at the Wesleyan Methodist church. On 29 October 1876, he delivered his first sermon there and hoped to give many more. He wrote enthusiastically to his brother Theo: “When I stood in the pulpit I felt like someone emerging from a dark, underground vault into the friendly daylight, and …
Petersham Isleworth, England 19 Nov 1876 Download walk Old map On 19 November 1876, Vincent preached at the Methodist church in Petersham, a village on the Thames. By the time he got there in late afternoon, he had already had a busy day, having taught Sunday school that morning in Turnham Green and visited the village of Richmond in the …
In November 1876, Vincent drew a sketch of the church in Turnham Green at the bottom of a letter to his brother Theo. He called it “Mr. Jones’s church”, as his employer, the Rev. Thomas Slade-Jones (1829–1883), was the pastor there. The church had been founded in September 1875 and was built entirely out of corrugated iron, not unusual at …
After the Belgian evangelism committee refused to extend his contract as a lay preacher, Vincent moved to the village of Cuesmes, where he found lodging with the preacher Edouard Joseph Francq (1819–1902). It must have been a difficult time for Vincent. He had failed at his work once again, embarrassing and confusing his family and himself. Relations must have become …
When Vincent arrived from Brussels in the village of Patûrage, he received a warm welcome from the businessman Benjamin Vanderhaegen and lived at his house for a few weeks. Vanderhaegen found Vincent accommodation with the farmer Jean Baptiste Denis in the nearby village of Wasmes. There, Vincent took poor care of himself and shunned earthly things to such an extreme …
When Vincent took a trip to Brussels in 1878 with his father and the Rev Slade-Jones to look into studying to become a preacher, they lodged with the Geerling family. Otto Geerling was an architect who frequently did evangelical work, through which he had met Mr Van Gogh. More than a year later, Vincent returned to Brussels on foot from …
On 1 November 1880, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he had gone to see the Dutch artist Willem Roelofs (1822–1897) on Theo’s advice. Roelofs, who had lived in Brussels since 1848, had an influential position in the local art world, and his acquaintance could therefore prove useful. Roelofs advised Vincent: “that from now on I should concentrate on …
When Vincent returned to Brussels in the autumn of 1880 to further his artistic development, he found a little room in a small guest house on Boulevard du Midi. The rent was 50 Belgian francs per month – not cheap, but reasonable in light of the high prices in Brussels. However, the room was unsuitable for Vincent to work in: …
When Vincent arrived in Brussels to study at the Flemish school for evangelists, he found lodging at the home of Pieter Jacobus Plugge in the suburb of Laken. Plugge was a council member at the church on Sint-Katelijneplein, which housed the training school. In his lodgings, Vincent denied himself every luxury, even sleeping on a rug on the floor rather …
In an effort to see as much art as he could, Vincent visited museums and dealers in Antwerp. Another way of coming into contact with art was to attend auctions. A public sale of classical and modern paintings took place in December 1885 at Salle Verlat. Vincent probably attended one of the viewing days, which were held on 13 and …
In 1883, a few years before going to Antwerp, Vincent had proclaimed La promenade sur les remparts by the Flemish artist Hendrik (Henri) Leys (1815–1869) to be one of the loveliest paintings he knew. When he arrived in Antwerp, he almost immediately visited Leys’ mansion, where the work was on display. Although Vincent looked forward to seeing the painting, it …
When Vincent arrived in Antwerp, he had to temporarily deposit his possessions at the royal customs house. He was able to retrieve them after a few days. The docks and quays would remain one of Vincent’s favourite areas of the city to walk in. He wrote enthusiastically to his brother: “Well, these docks are one huge Japonaiserie, fantastic, singular, strange …