From the age of 16, Vincent worked for the international art dealers Goupil & Cie, which changed its name to Boussod, Valadon & Cie in 1884. Vincent began working in the Hague branch and later moved to the London subsidiary. In October 1874, he was transferred for two months to the headquarters at 9 Rue Chaptal in Paris, and six …
Boussod, Valadon & Cie III
The international art dealers Boussod, Valadon & Cie, known as Goupil & Cie until 1884, had three locations in Paris. the headquarters at 9 Rue Chaptal and two galleries at 2 Place de L’Opera and 19 Boulevard Montmartre. Vincent’s brother Theo (1857–1891) became manager of the Boulevard Montmartre branch in 1881. By then, he had eight years of experience with …
Town hall
Seated on the terrace outside of Auberge Ravoux on 14 July 1890, Vincent painted a view of the town hall of Auvers-sur-Oise. In this painting the building and its garden were adorned by decorations of flags and banners for the occasion of Bastille Day or Quatorze Juillet, the national day of France. Vincent gave the work as a gift to …
Church
In early June 1890, Vincent painted the medieval church in Auvers-sur-Oise. He described the painting in a letter to his sister Willemien: “With that I have a larger painting of the village church – an effect in which the building appears purplish against a sky of a deep and simple blue of pure cobalt, the stained-glass windows look like ultramarine …
Goupil & Cie I
In May 1873, Vincent van Gogh moved to London to work at the city’s branch of the international art dealers Goupil & Cie. He had already built up experience in the firm’s Hague branch. Goupil did not have a showroom in London; there was only a warehouse for the distributon of prints. It did not deal in original paintings and …
Goupil & Cie II
Download walk Old map Since May 1874, Vincent van Gogh had worked in London for the art dealers Goupil & Cie, whose address was in Southampton Street. In January 1875, Goupil took over the London art dealers Holloway & Sons at 25 Bedford Street. Two months later, Vincent wrote to his brother Theo: “Our gallery is now finished and it’s …
Petersham
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 …
Turnham Green
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 …
School Jones
During the time that he worked at Stokes’s boys school in Isleworth, Vincent got to know Thomas Slade-Jones (1829–1883) Like Stokes, Jones ran a boarding school on the Twickenham Road; he was also a minister. He offered Vincent a job at his school, Holme Court, a few buildings down the road from the school. Vincent began teaching there, and later, …
School Stokes
In the spring of 1876, Vincent worked at a boys’ school in Ramsgate run by William Port Stokes (c. 1832–1890). When the school moved to Isleworth, Vincent followed. Just two weeks after the move, however, he found a better-paid job working as an assistant teacher in another school in Isleworth. Stokes evidently regretted losing Vincent, for when he heard of …
School Stokes
On 16 April 1876, Vincent arrived in Ramsgate to work as an assistant teacher at a boys’ school run by William Port Stokes (c. 1832–1890). He received room and board but no salary and had been offered the job just two weeks earlier. The school housed 24 boys between the ages of 10 and 14, and they were subjected to …
Salon du Bebé
Between January and July 1879, Vincent gave several sermons in the Salon du Bébé (also called Le temple du Bébé). A branch of the Protestant church of Grand-Wasmes convened in the hall, which held about 100 people. Vincent wrote to his brother Theo that he found it difficult to understand the local inhabitants, who spoke an extremely quick French dialect. …
Goupil & Cie
From 30 July 1869 to 10 May 1873, Vincent worked as the youngest clerk at The Hague’s branch of the international art dealer Goupil & Cie. Goupil, founded in 1829, was one of Europe’s best-known fine art and print dealers, with its headquarters in Paris and other branches in London, Brussels, Berlin and New York. The premises in The Hague …
Blussé & Van Braam
Vincent began working as a shop assistant at the Blussé & Van Braam bookshop in January 1877. He had visited in December to see whether it suited him, and in January, after a trial week, he stayed in Dordrecht. Vincent had gotten the job with the help of his uncle Vincent “Cent” van Gogh. Blussé & Van Braam sold books, …
Church
Vincent’s father served as parson of the Dutch Reformed church in Etten from October 1875 to August 1882. Vincent lived abroad during much of this period and often visited his parents during holidays such as Christmas and Easter. On those occasions, he attended services at his father’s church. He went to the church regularly when he stayed in Etten for …