Martin Bailey, a British writer, takes “home” as a clue to restore Van Gogh’s short life in his book “why is home”. In Martin’s eyes, there are only two places that can be called Van Gogh’s home. However, even in these two places, he only stayed for a short time: one is the humble house in the Hague, the Netherlands, which is in an insignificant part of the city. He also lives with his lover, Sean holnick, who has been a prostitute, and Sean’s young daughter and infant son; The other is the yellow house in Arles, France, where he lived briefly with painter Paul Gauguin as the owner.

The yellow house with green windows is Van Gogh’s residence in Arles

Van Gogh made up his mind to become a painter when he was in the Hague. At that time, he fell in love with Sean and had the idea of marrying her. Sean was already pregnant with the child of another man, and a few months later she gave birth to the child. In order to make Sean and his children have a comfortable living environment, Van Gogh rented a house with larger space in advance. There are three rooms on the top floor of the new house, one of which is a studio. Van Gogh’s exercises are hung on the wall of the studio. There is a large pine workbench in the house, and an easel is placed on both sides of the workbench. There is also a small kitchen. In the living room next to the kitchen, there is a stove, a wicker rattan chair for Sean, and a small iron cradle for children, covered with a green cover. But their life is very tight. Van Gogh can’t earn money and still lives on his brother’s regular support. Just a year later, they parted ways

Van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles

1888 Paris Orsay art collection

After leaving Sean, Van Gogh constantly changed his residence. It was not until five years later that he settled in Arles, Provence, France, and rented what he called the “yellow house”. The yellow house has two floors, and there are two spacious rooms on the first floor, namely the studio and the kitchen; There are two bedrooms on the second floor. The big one is the bedroom and the small one is the guest room. After the yellow house was decorated, Van Gogh painted his bedroom and put a pair of pillows on the bed in a prominent position in the painting. With this home, he hopes that his painters in Paris will come and live with him, so that he can not only share the rent, but also communicate in art. Later, painter Gauguin accepted his invitation and began their dream of “Southern studio”.

Later Gauguin recalled that Van Gogh’s house was full of chaos. At first, they were able to get along with each other. Before long, the two painters with different personalities had friction. They began to quarrel. The topics of the debate included both artistic views and minor family matters. Finally, Van Gogh cut off his ear with a razor. He was taken to the hospital and Gauguin hurried back to Paris.

Van Gogh’s self portrait with bandaged ears

1889 Courtauld art collection

Apart from a year with Sean in the Hague and a few months in the “yellow house”, Van Gogh has no fixed place. When he was an apprentice in painting business, he fell in love with art and tried to draw nutrients from the works of previous masters and the paintings of contemporary painters. Later, when he was a missionary in the mining area, the lives of miners also inspired his creation. In the Hague, he described daily urban life; Later, in Orville, a small town in the north of Paris, the vast rural scenery became his final source of creation, but it was also in Orville. On the afternoon of July 27, 1890, he walked into a wheat field, pointed a revolver at himself and pulled the trigger. “Van Gogh stumbled back to the hotel where he stayed, painfully climbed the stairs and entered the narrow bedroom, where he finally rested. The room had no window facing the street, only a small skylight. The painter spent his last time in such a narrow space. Two days later, Van Gogh died in the arms of his brother Theo, and his life journey was finally over.” In his letter to his wife, Theo told her about Van Gogh’s Tragedy: “poor man, he hasn’t enjoyed too many blessings in his life, but he won’t be tortured by hallucinations anymore. He is always alone, and sometimes he can’t bear the loneliness.”

Van Gogh’s Arles: the view of the wheat field

1888 Paris Rodin Museum Collection

The word “Van Martin’s home” appears quite frequently in 820 letters. The “home” mentioned in his letter often refers to his parents’ house, where they live and where he was born. In fact, his relationship with his family broke down in his early 20s, with the exception of his brother Theo. At the age of 30, Van Gogh once said in his letter that he was very different from his family. At this time, he didn’t care about his relationship with his family, and painting had become the whole of life. Even if the painter described the life as trivial, he thought it would still be a pity for me However, the problem is that he can’t sell his paintings, but he still has to pay for paint and models, because only in this way can he make progress. For him, “painting is home”.