Monday, January 24, 2005

Van Gogh

On the way back from Amiens we noticed a sign for Auvers sur Oise. Since we only stayed in Amiens for a little while, we had some time before we needed to get back home.

I've been wanting to take a trip to Auvers for a while. It is the town where Vincent Van Gogh lived his last three months after he was released from the Saint-Rémy asylum in 1890. Van Gogh painted many great works during those three months until he committed suicide in July. He is buried in the public cemetery in Auvers.

Auvers is a charming little town with a quaint church, a park and a classic Chateau with well manicured grounds where the children had fun running around. You can also visit the Ravoux Inn, the house where Vincent and his brother Theo lived.

As far as I could tell, Van Gogh created nearly 80 paintings in those three months in Auvers. Around town there are bulletin boards with replications of each masterpiece next to the place he painted. Amazing. We came upon the "The Church at Auvers" before we realized it was that church -- the one from the painting we've seen so many times in Musee D'Orsay!

Can anyone tell me the name of those trees in the foreground? I will miss them when I return to the US! They are beautiful in their own way.


And.. Auvers is only 30 minutes outside of Paris -- an easy day trip.


Those are plastic sunflowers someone placed on Vincent's grave.


-- said Auntie M in Paris
3:03 PM

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