CORRIDOR IN THE ASYLUM and TREE ROOTS

Overcast morning, no sunrise to capture, yet I know the sun is there.  Some days what we see isn't really all there is.

Am up fairly early.  Must report that my beloved olive tree is replanted in fresh potting soil and she's as happy as a plant can be.  The pot I ordered online matches the jacket on the large gnome I repainted last fall.  They'll make an amazing pair out on the deck this summer.  

While I was at it, I added fresh soil to my Christmas Cactus, which is still blossoming.  I was telling the boyfriend how I'd have enjoyed gardening in my life, but I put my job before everything else, plus I'm terrified of the wiggliest that are everywhere that I am.  Terrified isn't quite right, phobic is better.  Regardless, now in my late years I'm able to pamper a couple plants, and soon will have a hanging basket of flowers to tend to daily, as well.  By no means do I have a green thumb like some of my friends do, but I try.  If it's possible, I can get emotionally attached to my plants.  Some of us got double dips of compassion.  What can I say.

Corridor in the Asylum - 1889

This painting elicits feelings of loneliness and separation with one tiny figure seen glimpsed part way down the hallway.  Despite his colorful palette, the sharply receding corridor  feels hollow and haunted.  Vincent sent the drawing to his brother Theo to give him an impression of his new surroundings.  Throughout his 12-month confinement, he continued to paint.

Tree Roots - July 1890

This painting appears at first sight to be a jumble of bright colors and abstract forms.  Actually, the painting shows a slope with tree trunks and roots.  The work was not entirely completed, and that explains its unfinished appearance.  Tree Roots is probably Van Gogh's very last painting.  Researchers and experts have concluded that the location where Vincent got his inspiration for this painting has been identified.   See picture below: 

 

1890 postcard

Wouter Van der Veen (scientific director of the Institute Van Gogh) writes: 

"Every element of this mysterious painting can be explained by observation of the postcard and the location:  the shape of the hillside, the roots, their relation to each other, the composition of the earth and the presence of a steep limestone face.

"In May 2020, once the Covid-19 lockdown in France was lifted, Wouter Van DER Veen was able to travel to the site to verify his theory several months after the initial discovery.  The site is 150 meters (or 50 yards) from where Van Gogh spent the last 70 days of his life.  Spectacularly, the biggest tree trunk from the painter's last motif is still present and recognizable.  The Van Gogh Institute, in cooperation with local authorities, has erected a protective wooden structure to safeguard the site and allow for visits by the public.  Those who visit Auvers can stand at the exact place where Van Gogh's paint brush last touched the canvas."

In 1890, Vincent wanted to be closer to his brother Theo, who lived in Paris with his young family.  Vincent moved to Auvers where he rented a small attic room at the Cafe de la Mairie.  On July 27th, he failed to return for his evening meal.  The innkeeper knew Vincent's punctuality when it came to dinner, and that immediately caused concern. 

About 9 o'clock that evening a badly wounded Vincent entered the inn.  When asked what was the matter, Vincent said, "I tried to kill myself."  Theo was notified the following morning, and he rushed from Paris to the bedside, which he never left.  Vincent was conscious and the brothers were able to talk.  Theo later wrote to their mother:  "Vincent said, 'I would so like to go,' and an hour later he had his wish.  Life weighed so heavily on him."  At age 37, Vincent died.

His brother Theo was devastated after Vincent's death, and his health deteriorated rapidly.  Three months later he was admitted to the hospital and on January 25, 1891, six months after Vincent's death, Theo also died.

Cemetery in the Village of Auvers
North of Paris
~Two simple graves of Vincent and Theo~
❤❤