Van Gogh Painted Some of His Most Breathtaking Works During His Two Years in the South of France

When Vincent van Gogh left Paris in 1888, he was tired of city life. The Dutch Post-Impressionist traveled to the south of France, where he hoped to find respite. The tumultuous two years that followed were some of the artist’s most productive, during which he created hundreds of breathtaking paintings.

At London’s National Gallery, a new blockbuster exhibition—“Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers”—is examining van Gogh’s creative output between 1888 and 1890. As he moved between several residences in Arles and a psychiatric hospital in Saint-Rémy, he experimented with bold colors and new techniques. He died by suicide the following July.

“It was a prolific period during which—despite emotional turmoil, mental breakdowns and periodic institutionalization—the artist produced some of his most famous, inventive and moving works,” writes the New York Times’ Emily LaBarge.

In Arles, van Gogh rented rooms at a residence known as the Yellow House, where fellow artist Paul Gauguin joined him for a short stint. He painted some of his most celebrated pieces at the house, and he covered the walls with meticulously curated displays of his work. The new show spotlights some of these arrangements, exhibiting paintings in the same way the artist did more than 100 years ago.

“Poets and Lovers” is named for two 1888 portraits that hang together in the gallery—just as they once did above van Gogh’s bed: The “poet” is Eugène Boch, a Belgian painter who reminded van Gogh of the poet Dante Alighieri. Meanwhile, the “lover” is Lieutenant Milliet, a friend of the artist’s who was a “local soldier lothario,” per the Times.

The exhibition features more than 50 artworks, bringing together lesser-known pieces and heavy hitters (such as Starry Night and The Bedroom), per a statement from the gallery. It also includes paintings of olive trees, landscapes in southern France and the gardens of the psychiatric hospital where the artist stayed for about a year.

Van Gogh’s mental health deteriorated during this period. However, the curators have decided against focusing too closely on these challenges, choosing instead to highlight van Gogh’s creative development.

“We want to show the artist rather than the tortured soul,” co-curator Cornelia Homburg tells the Observer’s Vanessa Thorpe, adding: “The time van Gogh spent in the south of France is the moment of creative maturity when he really thought about how to be a modern artist.”

“Poets and Lovers” is also honoring van Gogh’s wish to bring together three of his masterpieces in a striking triptych. This display features two of his renowned sunflower paintings—one has a light blue backdrop, while the other is set against a rich gold—on either side of The Lullaby, a serene portrait of a woman seated in a chair.

In a letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh wrote that he hoped the triptych “would comfort sailors at sea” and represent “something consoling in life,” as co-curator Christopher Riopelle tells Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Getting the three paintings together was no small feat. While the version of Sunflowers set against a gold background belongs to the National Gallery, the other two paintings traveled to London from the United States: The Lullaby is on loan from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, while the other Sunflowers is on loan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“The curators have done fantastically well to get all these loans, which include major masterpieces,” Martin Bailey, an expert on van Gogh, tells the Observer. “They will have had to fight for every single one.”

“Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers” is on view at the National Gallery in London through January 19, 2025.

Julia Binswanger | READ MORE

Julia Binswanger is a freelance arts and culture reporter based in Chicago. Her work has been featured in WBEZ, Chicago magazine, Rebellious magazine and PC magazine.