THE LANGLOIS BRIDGE AT ARLES

Anyone else watching the armorer's trial in New Mexico?  I confess to be on the prosecutor's side, and yesterday afternoon the defense attorney wrangled my last nerve.  The judge must've felt the same, cuz she called for a recess to settle things down.  Defense attorneys have a way of badgering witnesses.  That's a tactic used to discredit their testimony.  Sometimes the attacks are quite sharp and undeserved.  The witness was a female detective, and she was well able to protect herself with dignity and poise.  She, too, was sharp on her testimony, she knew her facts well.  During the recess, I, too, had to calm down.  How could a person have better entertainment?  For me, a legal beagle, it's an ideal way to spend a February afternoon.  Today I'll spend time in the courtroom and may snack on white cheddar cheese popcorn.  Luv that stuff!   

The Langlois Bridge at Arles
with Road Alongside the Canal - 1888
(Done in watercolor)

Note Vincent's signature in the bottom left.  First name only.  More personal, less pretentious.

Fairly soon after arriving in Arles, France, he painted different versions of this particular drawbridge located south of town.  Four paintings, two drawings, this watercolor and a sketch. 

The sky was grey when Vincent painted this bridge, setting the stage for this drab painting.  With watercolors he created the structure details of the bridge, its hardware, iron supports, braces and chain pulleys.   He combined simplicity with complexity in this painting.  Did Vincent view life itself as simple, but it is mankind who complicates it?  

If you look through the opening in the bridge, you see two tiny figures.  In his other paintings of the drawbridge, we see women washing clothes in this same canal.  Most likely that's what we see in this painting.

Van Gogh made about 150 watercolor paintings during his 10-years of painting.  He often made them a trial run for an oil painting.

Langlois Bridge at Arles with Women Washing - 1888

This is the painting that shows activity along the canal.  A yellow cart crosses the bridge while a group of women wash clothes along the shore.  Notice how Vincent uses yellows to indicate where the sun is shining.  He uses circular brush strokes to create the circular ripples of the water and blue straight brush strokes for the bridge reflection in the water.  Once again, Vincent includes an empty boat in the foreground.  Why does he suggest a sense of  absence in his works?  Does the empty boat reflect a feeling of emptiness?    a yearning for someone to share his life?  or is it merely an item of intrigue for the viewer to ponder?

Comparing these two paintings, we clearly see the difference vibrant colors make.  The difference between a sunny day and a cloudy drab day.  The difference between positive and negative, depression and activity.  Once again, Van Gogh creates and conveys two totally different moods surrounding the same drawbridge.  🖌