Van Gogh in Arles France

A few days ago, I was in Arles, in the south for France. I found out that Vincent Van Gogh arrived there in February 1888 and left in April 1889.

He was quite prolific during this period and produced more than 200 paintings. Many consider his time in Arles to be his most creative of his career since it came after some valuable learnings. Some or his best known paintings were produced in this area of Provence. These included the still life of "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers" and his famous Sunflowers series. 

Would you believe that Arles does not possess a single Van Gogh painting.  Recently, the  "Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles" was created to honour his legacy, and to celebrate his influence on artists in the 20th and 21st centuries. The foundation exhibits a dynamic collection of artworks - a collection which begun life in the 1980s - made in tribute to Van Gogh by some of the most exciting modern and contemporary artists.

In addition, many of the places that Van Gogh had visited and painted in Arles were destroyed during World War II bombing raids.   Therefore, I was not able to visit any café or place where he stayed.

The south of France has a rich artistic heritage and I am enjoying visiting a number of galleries - in addition to a number of other sites of course.

Today's artist find is Michel Douillard:

Have a great week

Danielle