The Yellow House and the Sunflowers in Arles
Also called: Sunflowers
In Arles in southern France Van Gogh rented the Yellow House, painted sunflowers and the café at night and welcomed Gauguin — but two months later, after a violent quarrel, he injured his own ear.
Vincent van Gogh · Public domain · Source
Arriving in Arles in February 1888, Van Gogh was gripped by the strong southern light and colour and painted nearly 200 works in a little over a year. Renting the Yellow House on Place Lamartine, he dreamed of a “studio of the south” where artists would live together, and painted his sunflowers to decorate the guest room. Café Terrace at Night and The Bedroom date from these months.
Gauguin came in October, but the two argued often over painting and ideas. On the night of 23 December, after a fierce quarrel, Van Gogh in a mental crisis injured his own left ear and was taken to hospital; Gauguin soon returned to Paris. As the attacks recurred, people in Arles came to fear him.
