The Masterpiece

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing 1888 Vincent van Gogh

Our painting workshop to St. Rémy was full of delightful surprises, not the least of which was the presence of Vincent van Gogh in the landscape all around us. The town of St. Rémy has commemorated van Gogh’s brief stay by marking with illustrated plaques many of the places in town where he stood to paint the views. There are also round bronze markers set in the pavement at other spots with the signature, Vincent, engraved into them. The sanatorium, St. Paul de Maulsole, where van Gogh stayed is still there and operating. Inside, van Gogh’s bedroom has been reconstructed. For six euros one can enter the sanatorium and walk through the cloisters and chapel up the stairs to the bedroom. The grounds are still surrounded by the old olive orchards, perhaps with some of the very trees he painted still growing there. It is an emotional experience to see them set against the familiar silhouettes of the nearby Alpilles, j…