Van Gogh in
Hyde Park
Hyde Park
Hyde Park still exists and is open to the public. Rotten Row is still a bridleway but is little used as such.
Van Gogh in
Hyde Park
Vincent mentioned Hyde Park a few times in his letters; it undoubtedly evoked a certain poetic feeling in him. Of the park’s appearance in the early morning, he wrote:
“When daylight came I was in Hyde Park, where the leaves were already falling from the trees and the Virginia creeper was so magnificently red against the houses, and it was foggy.” Read the complete letter
He especially liked Rotten Row, the park’s long bridleway. The name likely derived from ‘Route du Roi’: the lane was built in 1691 by King William III (1650–1702) as a royal carriage drive between St James’s Palace and his new home, Kensington Palace. During the eighteenth century, the lane became a meeting place for well-to-do citydwellers who went there to ride, see and be seen.
Vincent wrote to his Hague friends Willem van Stockum (1846–1900) and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek (1852–1926):
“One of the nicest things I’ve seen here is Rotten Row in Hyde Park” Read the complete letter
Continue reading
Martin Bailey
Kristine Groenhart en Willem-Jan Verlinden
Jan Meyers
Ronald Pickvance