Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France

Vincent van Gogh in Arles, France

Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles, in the south of France, in February 1888, seeking light, color, and a warmer climate to improve both his art and his fragile health. After two difficult years in Paris, he wanted to escape the urban environment and establish what he envisioned as a “Studio of the South,” a community of artists inspired by the intense Provençal sun and rural life.

Arles transformed his palette. The muted tones of his earlier Dutch works gave way to saturated yellows, blues, and greens. He worked at extraordinary speed, producing more than 300 paintings, drawings, and watercolors in just over a year. The flat landscapes, orchards in bloom, wheat fields, and simple provincial architecture provided subjects that aligned with his search for expressive simplicity.

Van Gogh rented rooms in the now-famous Yellow House on Place Lamartine. He furnished it modestly and decorated it with his own paintings, hoping to welcome fellow artists. Paul Gauguin accepted the invitation and joined him in October 1888. For several weeks the two worked side by side, producing radically different interpretations of the same environment. Their temperaments clashed, however, leading to escalating tensions.