The Yellow House (The Street)

Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), Arles, September 1888

oil on canvas, 72 cm x 91.5 cm

The house was the right wing of 2 Place Lamartine, Arles, France, where, on
May 1, 1888, Van Gogh rented four rooms. He occupied two large ones on the
ground floor to serve as an atelier (workshop) and kitchen, and on the first floor,
two smaller ones facing Place Lamartine. The window on the first floor nearest the
corner with both shutters open is that of Van Gogh's guest room, where Paul
Gauguin lived for nine weeks from late October 1888. Behind the next window,
with shutters nearly closed, is Van Gogh's bedroom. The two small rooms at the
rear were rented by Van Gogh at a later time.
Van Gogh indicated that the restaurant where he used to have his meals was in the
building painted pink, close to the left edge of the painting. It was run by Widow
Venissac, who was also Van Gogh's landlady, and who owned several of the other
buildings depicted. To the right of the Yellow House, the Avenue Montmajour
runs down to the two railway bridges. The first line (with a train just passing)
served the local connection to Lunel, which is on the opposite bank of river
Rhône. The other line was owned by the P.-L.-M. Railway Company (Paris Lyon
Méditerranée). In the left foreground is an indication of the corner of the
pedestrian walk which surrounded one of the public gardens on Place Lamartine.
The ditch running up Avenue Montmajour from the left towards the bridges served
the gas pipe, which allowed Van Gogh a little later to have gaslight installed in his
atelier.

Vincent had finally found a place at the Yellow House where he could not only
paint but also have his friends come to stay. His plan was to turn the yellow
corner-building into an artists’ house, where like-minded painters could live and
work together.

My feelings are contrasting, when I look at the picture. I like the yellow buildings,
one close to the other, and the contrast, between yellow and blue of the sky. I feel
the calmness of the painting, as I see some people walking in the street, some
others sitting around the table and the train crossing at the back of it. The whole
picture is unique and the simplicity it shows is completed with the trees on the left
side of it.
I believe that this painting is a masterpiece of Van Gogh’s work and it shows the
everyday life of French people combined with his own feelings about the house he
used to live.

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