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Published: November 24th 2011
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It could be true that Van Gogh didn't actually commit suicide but was instead shot by a young man (in an accident or as a provecation) and faked suicide to protect the young man from a murder conviction. So claims a new biography "Van Gogh : The Life" by pulitzer prize winning authors Naifeh and Smith. The theory has not been fully embraced yet by historians and art critics but it does raise some interesting questions about this emigmatic artist. It certainly peeked my curiosity enough to buy and begin reading this exquisitly written biography of Vincent Van Gogh.
The timing couldn't be more perfect to stay in St. Remy de Provence and visit the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole mental asylum where Vincent prolifically created some of his most beloved works. Although you can't truely call this still-functioning mental institution a museum because it has no actual paintings; it did more for my understanding of this great artist than a trip to the louvre.
Van Gogh was mental...for shizzle. Almost certainly manic-depressive, but just imagine the techniques of dealing with metal patients in his day. Being put in
a tub, covered up to your neck with a wooden board while ice-cold water is poured over you sounds like it would make me go mental too. Still his time at the asylum was one of his most serene and productive periods. He painted his most famous works here, Starry Night among them.
In reading his biography it sounds like his Mommy was a real hard ass. Vincent's persona and paintings challenged her traditional world view so much so that even after his death and post-humous fame she called his art "rediculous". Woah! Tough as nails. My Mommy likes everything I make, even when I know myself it's not so hot...but maybe Vincents angry Mommy fueled something in him that made him go mental and transcend the way normal people see the world.
The new theory on his death as anything other than suicide makes me wonder if the legend of his insane life is partly what people respond to in his artwork. I think we all want our artists to be a bit insane and while surely his art is great, it's got to be partly the great story of his life and death that we respond to. If he did indeed protect another from being procuted for shooting him, it would be such a selfless act, only someone insane could make that decision.
To visit the St. Paul asylum where Van Gogh stayed made me appreciate him in a wholely new manor. To be honest, I didn't really like his art that much before. I loved Starry Night, but I always found the colors in most of his other paintings to be ugly and in-harmonious. These colors and compositions are so much more acurate than I ever realized before seeing the scenes that Vincent saw. But they're more than just true to what the eye sees, they convey a sense of the place that you FEEL standing in these fields and looking at these olive trees and muddy-golden fields. That's why these paintings are great. Vincent wasn't trying to play to the masses and creating something that would sell the way I feel like Picasso, Matisse, Monet often did. Enough about Van Gogh. On to Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman acquidact (aka water bridge) was fantastic to see because it's still standing strong, but just
imagine all the people throughout the ages that came to this site and walk accross it and jumped off of it into the water and graffittied it with M LOVES R etc. The best is to bring a picnic and enjoy it with a bottle of wine we bought from the shop here.
So much of Provence is just exploring these ancient fortified towns of the Luberon and Cote de Rhone. We spent a day in each of those areas.
In the Hill Towns of the Luberon we toured the sprawling Sunday market in Isle Sur La Sorgue. If I sayed in countryside Provence I would definitely stay here next time. A beautiful river-wrapped town, the market day can't be missed. Buy olives, baguettes, fromage, sausages and picnic further afield in Gordes or Roussillion. Gordes is spectacular to gaze upon from afar. People who have seen A Good Year will recognize this spectacular town from the movie. Roussillion (made with it's rich red stone) is also fun to walk around and imagine Beckett writing his surreal plays in the midst of WWII. This must of been the place to inspire Fin de Partie.
The day we toured
the Cote du Rhone was an off day. Rainy, windy and cold made for unpleasent trips to otherwise quaint towns like Vainson la Roman. Still we managed to find a perfect respite from the cold in a cozy cafe named La Maison d'Eglantine in Sagaret.
Other highlights of our St. Remy experience were the chocolates at Joel Durand's shop as well as the pizza place La Cantina and the restaurant Bistrot Decouverte.
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