Vincent's Bedroom in Arles

painted in 1888 in Arles, France, a month after he moved into the 'Yellow House'.  It was the first time the artist had a home of his own and he eagerly painted a few pictures to decorate the walls.  After spending two and a half days in bed, he conceived the idea of painting his room.

'Van Gogh so highly esteemed his bedroom painting that he made three distinct version of it; the first, now in the collection of the Van Gogh Musem, Amsterdam never left the artist's estate.  It got damaged at some stage at his home and he sent it to his brother Theo to repair.  Once it was returned to him, he painted a second version of it on the same scale, which now belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago.  Later a third and smaller version was painted as a gift to his mother and sister, this one now resides in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

This is what he wrote to his brother Theo in his letters about the painting: "It amused me enormously doing this bar interior.  With a simplicity a la Seurat.  In flat tints, but coarsely brushed in full impasto, the walls pale lilac, the floor in a broken and faded red, the chairs and the bed chrome yellow, the pillows and the sheet very pale lemon green, the bedspread blood-red, the dressing table orange, the wasbasin blue, the window green.  I had wished to express utter repose with all these very different tones."  

Although the painting with the bright colours symbolised rest, repose and peace to the artist, it does seem to have a type of tumultuous, nervous energy, an effect heightened by the sharply receding perspective.

This 40 x 50cm version of this iconic Van Gogh painting is relatively challenging and has 24 colours.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.

Extra reading:

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/28560/the-bedroom

https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0047v1962

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedroom_in_Arles