VINCENT AT THE ORSAY

Amazing as it is, Vincent van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime.  One painting!  Now Vincent van Gogh is one of the most beloved painters.  One of his paintings can sell for tens of millions of dollars. 

The Musée d'Orsay's permanent collection contains some of the most famous and beautiful works by Vincent van Gogh.

Van Gogh often used himself as a model; he produced over 43 self-portraits, paintings or drawings in ten years.
 
La Chambre de Van Gogh à Arles (1889)

I have seen all three versions of this painting: here at the Musée d'Orsay, at the Art Institute of Chicago and in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

L'Arlésienne (1888)

Madame Ginoux ran the Café de la Gare in Arles.  Van Gogh, inspired by the sketches of her by his friend, Paul Gauguin, ended up painting six different paintings of Madame Ginoux.

Eugène Boch (1888)

Eugène Boch was a Belgian painter and a member of the family of fine china manufacturers, the Boch of Villeroy & Boch.  Eugène often exchanged works with other artists, as he did with van Gogh.  Upon his death in 1941, Boch bequeathed this painting, which he received in accordance to the last will of Vincent and Theo, to the Louvre.

Le Docteur Paul Gachet (1890)

After he moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, Vincent became a patient of Dr. Gachet on the advice of his brother Theo. The portrait of the doctor was painted during van Gogh's particularly intense creative phase. The doctor is portrayed in a melancholy pose reflecting, as Van Gogh wrote, "the desolate expression of our time". The only touch of hope in the portrait brushed in cold colors is the foxglove which brings a little comfort and relief through its curative properties. 

La sieste: d'après Millet (1890)

The siesta was painted while Van Gogh was in the mental hospital in Saint-Rémy de Provence. The composition is taken from a drawing by French painter Jean-François Millet. Van Gogh often copied the works of Millet.
 
La Salle de Danse à Arles (1888)

This painting shows an evening at the Folies-Arlésiennes, a dance hall on Boulevard des Lices in Arles. A reference to Japanese art is evident in the strange, decorative foreground where the curves of the hair are dominant.

In May 1890, van Gogh left the clinic in Saint-Rémy to be closer to his brother, Theo and Dr. Gachet in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise.  During these 70 days van Gogh painted nearly 70 paintings, some of his most beautiful works.
Mademoiselle Gachet dans son jardin à Auvers-sur-Oise (1890)

Chaumes de Cordeville à Auvers-sur-Oise (1890)

L'Église d'Auvers-sur-Oise, Vue du Chevet (1890)

For more information visit: http://www.musee-orsay.fr.

To get to the Musée d'Orsay, use:

Metro: Line 12 to Solférino
RER: Line C to Musée d'Orsay
Bus: Lines 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94

• Regular admission is €9.00.
• FREE with your Paris Museum Pass.
• There may be a charge for special exhibitions.
• Closed Mondays.
• Closed January 1, May 1, Christmas Day.
• Open 9:30-6:00 on Tuesday-Thursday.
• Open 9:30-9:45 on Thursday

NOTE: All photos of the paintings in this blog post were taken by me on my visit to the Musée d'Orsay in May, 2006. Unfortunately photography is no longer allowed at the museum.