14th September 2024 - 19 January 2025
Eighth visit on Tuesday 12th November. I decided to switch to morning slots for the remaining bookings for the exhibition.
Today I arrived at about 10:20 for the 10:30am booking and found that the galleries were just slightly less full than on the previous afternoon visits.
Today I arrived at about 10:20 for the 10:30am booking and found that the galleries were just slightly less full than on the previous afternoon visits.
The Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital, Saint-Rémy: November, 1889
oil on canvas
73.1 x 92.6 cm
Museum Folkwang, Essen
oil on canvas
73.1 x 92.6 cm
Museum Folkwang, Essen
(detail)
This is another of the slightly 'un-approachable' paintings that does repay close scrutiny. The silvery light evoked is quite extraordinary as is the working of the paint on the walkway alongside the building.
This is another of the slightly 'un-approachable' paintings that does repay close scrutiny. The silvery light evoked is quite extraordinary as is the working of the paint on the walkway alongside the building.
(detail)
The paving may have been a herringbone pattern and the artist seems overwhelmed by the detail but determined to articulate it somehow.
The sky illuminates with a glittery light.
The tonal steps across the painting connect the pigment to the painting surface. (That may be a 'painters' remark!)
The sky illuminates with a glittery light.
The tonal steps across the painting connect the pigment to the painting surface. (That may be a 'painters' remark!)
The Public Park at Arles
Arles: October, 1888
oil on canvas
72 x 93 cm
Private collection
I have gone back to these paintings again but will keep these images isolated until I can proof them next week.
Today I managed to set the camera up with the rear screen view so was able to get some better details keeping the narrow plane of focus more in line with the painting surface.
Arles: October, 1888
oil on canvas
72 x 93 cm
Private collection
I have gone back to these paintings again but will keep these images isolated until I can proof them next week.
Today I managed to set the camera up with the rear screen view so was able to get some better details keeping the narrow plane of focus more in line with the painting surface.
Vincent's House in Arles (The Yellow House) 1888
oil on canvas
72 x 91.5 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Every time I look at this painting I find that it is less saturated than expected. The palette is quite elusive.
The illusion and memory that one takes away though is crucial. It is just the same construct that I have experienced with the paintings of Josef Albers. A quiet and building resonance!
oil on canvas
72 x 91.5 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Every time I look at this painting I find that it is less saturated than expected. The palette is quite elusive.
The illusion and memory that one takes away though is crucial. It is just the same construct that I have experienced with the paintings of Josef Albers. A quiet and building resonance!
Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, Arles: January, 1889
oil on canvas
100.5 x 76.5 cm
Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo
The yellows of the sunflowers are maybe found again in the Josef Albers paintings many years later. I wonder if his lists of colours on the backs of the paintings have any of the chrome based pigments?
oil on canvas
100.5 x 76.5 cm
Sompo Japan Museum of Art, Tokyo
The yellows of the sunflowers are maybe found again in the Josef Albers paintings many years later. I wonder if his lists of colours on the backs of the paintings have any of the chrome based pigments?
Field with Poppies
Saint-Rémy: early June, 1889
oil on canvas
71 x 91 cm
Kunsthalle Bremen
I had been trying to catch the top of this painting and to understand if there was actually a sky or if it was the continuation of the fields. It could be either but the shadow of the frame is hiding further painterly clues.
Saint-Rémy: early June, 1889
oil on canvas
71 x 91 cm
Kunsthalle Bremen
I had been trying to catch the top of this painting and to understand if there was actually a sky or if it was the continuation of the fields. It could be either but the shadow of the frame is hiding further painterly clues.
Meadow in the Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital, Saint-Rémy, May, 1890
oil on canvas
64.5 x 81 cm
National Gallery, London
This painting definitely does not have a skyline and is probably the most 'all over' painting in the exhibition.
oil on canvas
64.5 x 81 cm
National Gallery, London
This painting definitely does not have a skyline and is probably the most 'all over' painting in the exhibition.
(detail)
(detail)
(detail)
Site Updated February 2026 Felix Mottram