Vincent’s final months

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To honour this special occasion, they have brought together a remarkable collection of over 50 paintings and drawings by Van Gogh, never seen together before. Van Gogh in Auvers. His Final Months showcases the artist’s work made towards the end of his life, when he was living in the small French village of Auvers-sur-Oise.

It is an often-overlooked period, with attention more often focused on his time spent in Arles (where he painted Sunflowers and developed a friendship with Paul Gauguin) or Saint-Rémy, which inspired Starry Night. The paintings made while in Auvers featured a more subdued colour palette, full of minty spring greens and deep blues. They still have that trademark Van Gogh touch of thick impasto paint and mesmerising, hypnotic compositions.

Wine Of The Month

Vincent moved to Auvers in May 1890 and only lived there for a few months before his death in July. The mental health issues that accompanied him throughout his life followed him to Auvers, and he struggled with overwhelming feelings of failure and loneliness. When you look at these works, you can see those sentiments writ large. His landscapes appear still and sombre or feature vast imposing skies. Even his portraits from this period, such as the famous Dr. Paul Gachet painting, feature the eponymous doctor with a furrowed brow and a melancholic expression.

It is a stellar exhibition of a prolific period in the artist’s life. Knowing what was soon to come for Vincent, you can only look at the works pensively, but they are no doubt the products of a genius.