!['In this week's edition of our "Conversation with the Author," Steven Naifeh offers sightseeing recommendations for a Van Gogh enthusiast headed to the artist's most famous stomping grounds...
Q: Traveling to the south of France next summer. As a big Van Gogh fan, what MUST I see while there? – Mary McDonough Turbett
A: The Saint-Paul asylum at Saint-Rémy is a must. It's still a functioning mental facility so you can’t go into the courtyard or into the parts of the buildings that Van Gogh actually inhabited. But the facility has a room similarly situated to his room, so that visitors can see the view of the wheat field that he painted from the vantage of his window. Also, the olive orchards are still there, as are many of the other sites he painted while at Saint-Rémy. Those sites are mostly close to the facility, which comes as a surprise until you realize that the asylum guards would not have taken the trouble to accompany him longer distances. It is magical to see the actual landscapes he painted.
It is certainly worth visiting Arles as well. Even though the Yellow House was bombed during World War II, and the site is occupied by a café, you can still see the buildings around and the park in front of it. But you can also see the ancient Roman burial grounds, the Alyscamps; the Roman coliseum, which Van Gogh painted filled with spectators for a bullfight; as well as the glorious vistas from nearby Montmajour; and many of the other sites that Van Gogh made so famous. I envy you your trip!
Pictured: Van Gogh, Garden of the Asylum, December 1889. Oil on canvas, 71.5 x 90.5 cm. @[127104175596:274:Van Gogh Museum], Amsterdam.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-0/q82/s133x133/12310523_1008201659245643_8525045062134163221_n.jpg?oh=f529c468c6aa0c92649a89ea7d6d7e81&oe=5721F03A)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Portrait of Gauguin, December 1888. Oil on burlap, 38.2 x 33.8 cm. @[127104175596:274:Van Gogh Museum], Amsterdam.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/l/t1.0-0/q90/s118x118/12314136_1007809749284834_359893949015883931_n.jpg?oh=ce35fe8d0129ef4db4f6e2e5bc65127c&oe=5719DE5B)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Roulin's Baby, December 1888. Oil on canvas, 35 x 23.9 cm. @[118604413043:274:National Gallery of Art], Washington, DC.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-0/q86/s160x160/12308713_1007354119330397_737398809170217953_n.jpg?oh=e1849e7fa319e8959561b35fead6b31c&oe=56E9B386)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, The Wheat Field behind St. Paul’s Hospital, St. Rémy, November-December 1889. Oil on canvas, 24.13 x 33.66 cm. @[11553938637:274:VMFA Virginia Museum of Fine Arts], Richmond.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-0/q88/s160x160/12314109_1006971462701996_3560705289385761628_n.jpg?oh=66810fffb475643658b1885d47ca1cc6&oe=56DBF419)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Landscape with Rabbits, December 1889. Oil on canvas, 32.7 x 40.6 cm. @[127104175596:274:Van Gogh Museum], Amsterdam.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-0/q87/s130x130/12341338_1006478602751282_6980352491171817791_n.jpg?oh=ee678b35de41c65a1ed3f497c5b947c2&oe=56E463FF)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Gauguin's Chair, December 1888. Oil on canvas, 90.5 x 72.7 cm. @[127104175596:274:Van Gogh Museum], Amsterdam.
"These are consoling things, to see modern life as something bright in spite of its inevitable griefs." – Vincent van Gogh'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-0/q82/s130x130/12308345_1006066512792491_2331508642096610678_n.jpg?oh=b7b5ee8ff363ad4a02f2469531e2113a&oe=56E2CF7E)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Still Life with Plaster Statuette, a Rose and Two Novels, December 1887. Oil on canvas, 55.0 x 46.5 cm. @[112562485425686:274:Kröller-Müller Museum], Otterlo.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-0/q86/s168x128/12345474_1005479436184532_4682737648454663546_n.jpg?oh=a2171c7db5c896d35790398968c8a9e4&oe=56EAE39F)
!['This week, our "Conversation with the Author" continues with a discussion about Van Gogh's complex relationship with Paul Gauguin...
Q: Paul Gauguin. How much did he damage Vincent's self-image?
– Antonia Winkelman
A: Gauguin did a great deal of damage to Van Gogh’s self-image. The fact that Gauguin started selling fairly well soon after he moved into the Yellow House with Van Gogh – and the fact that Van Gogh’s brother Theo was responsible for the sales – was humiliating at a time when Van Gogh could sell nothing.
Gauguin’s legendary charm with women was even more galling to Van Gogh, whose only major relationship in his entire life was with a prostitute in The Hague. Van Gogh unfortunately did not live long enough to learn that he ultimately had much more influence as an artist on Gauguin than Gauguin had on him – or that he was ultimately even more beloved as an artist than Gauguin.
– Steven Naifeh, co-author of @[146441978754953:274:Van Gogh\: The Life]
Pictured: Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh Painting Sunflowers, December 1888. Oil on canvas, 73 x 91 cm. @[127104175596:274:Van Gogh Museum], Amsterdam.'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-0/q85/s130x130/12308581_1005033782895764_456873180645255879_n.jpg?oh=1a6971b8632bbc9abc0e6ec8458bdbaf&oe=56D6A99F)
!['Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Women Picking Olives, December 1889. Oil on canvas, 72.7 x 91.4 cm. @[6296252634:274:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].'](https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/v/t1.0-0/q87/s133x133/12295381_1004401112959031_5243388272006754380_n.jpg?oh=6f0dd1d2ad35d667310c57eb8f300f43&oe=56DD8A61)
In this week's edition of our "Conversation with the Author," Steven Naifeh offers sightseeing recommendations for a Van Gogh enthusiast headed to the artist's most famous stomping grounds...
Q: Traveling to the south of France next summer. As a big Van Gogh fan, what MUST I see while there? – Mary McDonough Turbett
A: The Saint-Paul asylum at Saint-Rémy is a must. It's still a functioning mental facility so you can’t go into the courtyard or into the parts of the buildings t...
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Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Portrait of Gauguin, December 1888. Oil on burlap, 38.2 x 33.8 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Roulin's Baby, December 1888. Oil on canvas, 35 x 23.9 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, The Wheat Field behind St. Paul’s Hospital, St. Rémy, November-December 1889. Oil on canvas, 24.13 x 33.66 cm. VMFA Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Landscape with Rabbits, December 1889. Oil on canvas, 32.7 x 40.6 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Gauguin's Chair, December 1888. Oil on canvas, 90.5 x 72.7 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
"These are consoling things, to see modern life as something bright in spite of its inevitable griefs." – Vincent van Gogh
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Still Life with Plaster Statuette, a Rose and Two Novels, December 1887. Oil on canvas, 55.0 x 46.5 cm. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo.
This week, our "Conversation with the Author" continues with a discussion about Van Gogh's complex relationship with Paul Gauguin...
Q: Paul Gauguin. How much did he damage Vincent's self-image?
– Antonia Winkelman
...See More– Antonia Winkelman
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Women Picking Olives, December 1889. Oil on canvas, 72.7 x 91.4 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Le Blute-Fin Mill, 1886. Oil on canvas, 55.2 x 38 cm. Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle, Netherlands.
Dutch art curator Dirk Hannema bought "Le Blute-Fin Mill" in 1975 for 5,000 Dutch guilders (about $2800). Convinced the painting was an undiscovered Van Gogh, Hannema immediately insured it for 16 times more than what he paid. The experts, however, weren't convinced, and the presumed fake remained in Hannema's home until his death in 1984. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Hannema was vindicated when experts at the Van Gogh Museum authenticated the work as a genuine Van Gogh.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Portrait of Camille Roulin, November-December 1888. Oil on canvas, 40.5 x 32.5 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, The Garden of Saint-Paul Hospital, November 1889. Oil on canvas, 73.1 x 92.6 cm. Museum Folkwang, Essen.
Art of the Day: Van Gogh, Poplars near Nuenen, November 1885. Oil on canvas, 78 x 98 cm. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam.
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