In the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh, a walk in Auvers-sur-Oise

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Published by Cécile de Sortiraparis, My de Sortiraparis · Photos by Cécile de Sortiraparis · Published on December 28th, 2020 at 02:57 p.m.
Vincent Van Gogh spent the last days of his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, a few kilometers from Paris. This beautiful town is the perfect place for a stroll in the footsteps of one of the world's most famous painters. Van Gogh, like the city of Auvers, have not finished revealing all their secrets...

Auvers-sur-Oise has long attracted artists of all kinds because of the beauty and calm of its surroundings. Among them, Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro... and Vincent Van Gogh. This small town located about 30 kilometers from Paris is even the last place where the painter of sunflowers lived: he died there 130 years ago, on July 29, 1890. In 2020, the city attracts many art lovers, who come to admire the places painted by Van Gogh. Now, a new pilgrimage site is open to them... and with it a surprise.

Walking around Auvers-sur-Oise is like walking through the paintings of the Dutch painter. Panels allow us to compare the work and the reality all along our way. We linger in front of the town'schurch, we imagine the ears of wheat growing gently in the fields, we visit the former home of Doctor Gachet or we meditate for a moment on the grave of Vincent Van Gogh, buried alongside his brother Theo.

The city also has a beautiful castle and a museum, the Daubigny museum. And of course, the must-see: theRavoux Inn, where Van Gogh and many of his fellow artists stayed. The inn is closed for renovation until March 2021. If you have to wait a little longer to (re)see Vincent Van Gogh's famous room, you can console yourself by admiring the exterior of the building and imagining all the stories that took place there.

Sur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-Oise

130 years after the death of the Dutch painter, a new stage awaits visitors. Inaugurated on July 28, 2020, this discreet place is of great importance for those who want to retrace the path Van Gogh took during the last days of his life. Indeed, a few months ago, a researcher discovered the precise place where the artist painted his last canvas, and therefore where he spent his last day.

Racine's secret

It is an unusual and moving story that was born during the confinement. Wouter Van der Veen is a university professor and researcher on the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh. He is also the director of theVan Gogh Institute in Auvers-sur-Oise. While preparing an exhibition on the history of the city, his eyes are lost on an old postcard. The researcher recognizes trees, rocks, a composition visible on the last painting by Vincent Van Gogh on the morning of his suicide, Racine.

Sur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-Oise

Not wanting to get carried away and distort the analysis, Wouter Van der Veen forces himself to be cautious. Nevertheless, the more he dissects this postcard and the painting, the more his doubts disappear: he has just discovered where Vincent Van Gogh painted his last work. A testimony indicates that the painter started his painting in the morning, but the colors used on the painting indicate that he was still working on it in the late afternoon.

Van Gogh therefore spent his last day on a small road leading to the fields, about a hundred meters from the inn where he was staying, facing a thicket of trees, stones and grass. The discovery is supported by Teio Meedendorp, a researcher at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which has the original painting on display.

A bittersweet farewell

For Wouter Van der Veen, this painting is a colorful farewell letter: " Everything in his painting speaks ofhumanity. The roots are the struggles of life, death, renewal," explains the lecturer. He also supports the idea that the suicidal act that got the better of the painter was not the object of a moment of madness. " Each painting of Van Gogh is extremely thoughtful. He painted all day, he was in full possession of his means, of his reason, to produce this work."

Van Gogh's suicide was therefore not the act of a man lost in his madness, overwhelmed by a sick and unreasoning mind. Vincent Van Gogh freely and consciously chose to end his life, no longer having the desire or the strength to fight the difficulties and pains that marked his life as a man.

Sur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-OiseSur les pas de Vincent Van Gogh, une balade à Auvers-sur-Oise

For Vincent Van Gogh, the end of a life is not the end of everything. Today, we know that he is right. If we would have liked him to live longer, if he had painted more masterpieces, Van Gogh's career extends long after his death. His story lives on through the museums and associations that pay tribute to him. It lives on through his family, through the descendants of his brother. And it lives on through all the enthusiasts, all those who were touched by his art and who come, in turn, to walk the paths of Auvers-sur-Oise.

Le Château d'Auvers sur Oise et sa collection permanente sur les ImpressionnistesLe Château d'Auvers sur Oise et sa collection permanente sur les ImpressionnistesLe Château d'Auvers sur Oise et sa collection permanente sur les ImpressionnistesLe Château d'Auvers sur Oise et sa collection permanente sur les Impressionnistes The Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise and its fine permanent collection to discover the Impressionists
Discover the Château d'Auvers-sur-Oise, its English-style gardens and its immersive Impressionist cultural trail, linked to the town. [Read more]

Practical information

Location

Château d'Auvers sur Oise
95430 Auvers sur Oise

Official website
www.ville-auverssuroise.fr

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