1890-05 · Auvers-sur-Oise · Knot of Silence

The Seventy Days of Auvers

Seventy days, more than eighty paintings. Not a slow ending, but an ever-denser one.

  1. Vincent van Gogh, Wheatfield under Thunderclouds, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F778 Wheatfield under Thunderclouds 1890
  2. Vincent van Gogh, The plain with farm near Auvers, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F782 The plain with farm near Auvers 1890
  3. Vincent van Gogh, Rain, Auvers, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F811 Rain, Auvers 1890
  4. Vincent van Gogh, Plain near Auvers, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F762 Plain near Auvers 1890
  5. Vincent van Gogh, The green wheatfield behind the asylum, 1889, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F718 The green wheatfield behind the asylum 1889
  6. Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Dr. Gachet (first version), 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F753 Portrait of Dr. Gachet (first version) 1890
  7. Vincent van Gogh, Portrait of Adeline Ravoux, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F754 Portrait of Adeline Ravoux 1890
  8. Vincent van Gogh, Marguerite Gachet at the Piano, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F772 Marguerite Gachet at the Piano 1890
  9. Vincent van Gogh, Chestnut trees in flower: pink and white blossoms, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F751 Chestnut trees in flower: pink and white blossoms 1890
  10. Vincent van Gogh, Blossoming Chestnut Trees, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F752 Blossoming Chestnut Trees 1890
  11. Vincent van Gogh, View of Auvers with church, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F800 View of Auvers with church 1890
  12. Vincent van Gogh, Pink Roses, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F595 Pink Roses 1890
  13. Vincent van Gogh, Wild Flowers in a Vase, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F763 Wild Flowers in a Vase 1890
  14. Vincent van Gogh, Roses and Anemones, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F764 Roses and Anemones 1890
  15. Vincent van Gogh, Irises in a Vase, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F678 Irises in a Vase 1890
  16. Vincent van Gogh, Farmhouse, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F806 Farmhouse 1890
  17. Vincent van Gogh, Country Road in Provence by Night, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F683 Country Road in Provence by Night 1890
  18. Vincent van Gogh, Landscape at Auvers in the Rain, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F811 Landscape at Auvers in the Rain 1890
  19. Vincent van Gogh, The thatch-roofed cottages of Jorgus, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F758 The thatch-roofed cottages of Jorgus 1890
  20. Vincent van Gogh, Garden at Auvers, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise
    F814 Garden at Auvers 1890

Painting

21 May to 27 July 1890. In seventy days he completed more than eighty oils, dozens of drawings, and was still writing letters. The works span the whole stretch: Houses at Auvers, The Church at Auvers, Portrait of Doctor Gachet, Daubigny's Garden, Wheat Field with Crows, Landscape at Auvers in the Rain, Tree Roots. Each canvas is the standard 30 size — he wrote, "I'm doing canvases of 30 almost every day." This was the most productive, most restrained, and least self-explanatory period of his life — the paintings doing the talking, while he himself spoke less and less.

Letter

June 1890, just after arriving in Auvers. "Auvers is very beautiful — among other things a lot of old thatched roofs, which are becoming rare." Early July: "I've got back to work — though the brush almost falls from my hands — and knowing well what I wanted I've painted three more large canvases since." July: "I'm doing canvases of 30 almost every day." Three sentences cover the whole period — the joy of arrival, the difficulty of producing, the steadiness of rhythm. "The brush almost falls from my hands" is the most direct description of his bodily state. He was still painting, but already racing against gravity.

Place

Auvers-sur-Oise, a village 30 km northwest of Paris. After leaving Saint-Rémy, Theo recommended he come here — Dr. Gachet was here, ready to look after him. He lived in a small attic room on the third floor of the Ravoux Inn, the rent was low, the window looked out over the square. Each early morning he set out with a canvas on his back, walking to the wheat fields, the church, the river, Daubigny's garden. He took his midday meal at the Ravoux's table and painted again in the afternoon. The most regular stretch of his life — and the shortest.

before

In May 1890 he came out of Saint-Rémy, saw Theo and Jo in Paris, saw his nephew, saw some painter friends, and then went to Auvers. On the surface, freer, closer to ordinary life.

now

In seventy days he painted more than eighty oils, and a great many drawings. In his letters he said he was in good shape, steady and absorbed; but the letters grew more frequent and shorter, more and more as if he were counting something.

after

On 27 July he was shot, and died two days later, Theo at his side. The unsent letter was in his pocket.

Events

  1. Synaesthetic Precision · Letter 873

    Arrived in Auvers-sur-Oise. Took a small attic room on the third floor of the Ravoux Inn, window opening onto the village square

  2. Synaesthetic Precision · Letter 873

    'Auvers is very beautiful — among other things a lot of old thatched roofs, which are becoming rare.' His first letter described the houses in front of him with words from childhood

  3. The Colour Experimenter · Letter 879

    'I'm doing canvases of 30 almost every day.' In seventy days he completed more than eighty oils and dozens of drawings

  4. The Colour Experimenter · Letter 879

    A colour encyclopaedia unfolding — the cobalt-violet of the Auvers church, the cobalt ground of Doctor Gachet, the rose and green of Daubigny's garden. Each painting one colour problem

  5. Synaesthetic Precision · Letter 898

    Production density and verbal silence occurred together. In Arles 1888, thirty-plus letters a month; across the seventy Auvers days, about fifteen. The paintings encrypted, the words tightened

  6. Synaesthetic Precision · Letter 898

    'I've got back to work — though the brush almost falls from my hands — and knowing well what I wanted I've painted three more large canvases since.'

  7. Synaesthetic Precision

    Afternoon of 27 July 1890 — he returned from the wheat fields of Auvers wounded. Two days later he died at the Ravoux Inn

From the Letters

Auvers est bien beau — beaucoup de vieux chaumes entre autres, ce qui devient rare.

Auvers is very beautiful — among other things a lot of old thatched roofs, which are becoming rare.

Letter 873
Je me suis remis au travail — quoique la brosse me tombe presque des mains — et sachant bien ce que je voulais j'ai encore peint trois grandes toiles depuis.

I've got back to work — though the brush almost falls from my hands — and knowing well what I wanted I've painted three more large canvases since.

Letter 898
Je fais des toiles de 30 presque chaque jour.

I'm doing canvases of 30 almost every day.

Letter 879

Letter Sources

Van Gogh letter records referenced on this page, linked to the Van Gogh Letters Project. vangoghletters.org

Technique Evidence

This work appears as evidence in this site’s technique-evolution axis.

  1. The World in Motion 1889.05 – 1890.05 Open period F608 / JH1691 Irises Impasto Visible impasto and thick brushwork Brushstroke Representative of swirling brushwork
  2. The Burning Seventy Days 1890.05 – 1890.07 Open period F753 / JH2007 Portrait of Dr. Gachet Speed Representative work from the 70-day Auvers burst
  3. The Burning Seventy Days 1890.05 – 1890.07 Open period F789 / JH2006 Church at Auvers Speed Representative work from the 70-day Auvers burst
  4. The Burning Seventy Days 1890.05 – 1890.07 Open period F772 / JH2048 Marguerite Gachet at the Piano Format 50 x 100 cm double-square canvas Speed Representative work from the 70-day Auvers burst
  5. The Burning Seventy Days 1890.05 – 1890.07 Open period F778 / JH2097 Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds Format 50 x 100 cm double-square canvas Speed Representative work from the 70-day Auvers burst
  6. The Burning Seventy Days 1890.05 – 1890.07 Open period F779 / JH2117 Wheatfield with Crows Speed Representative work from the 70-day Auvers burst