Blog post Locations linked to Vincent van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise was first published on Culture Tourist on May 1th 2019.

Auvers-sur-Oise was one of my favourite places linked to life and work of Vincent van Gogh. It’s a village where he lived during the last two months of his life. He painted around eighty paintings during that time. However, that’s also a place where he died and is buried today. There are so many locations linked to Vincent van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, anyone in love with his work, should definitely visit it.

Vincent van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise

After a year at the asylum in Saint-Remy, Vincent left it and went to Paris to visit his brother Theo and his family. He stayed with them for a couple of days. Before his arrival, he asked Theo to look for a quiet place where he could live and work. Theo knew Dr. Paul Gachet, who was an art patron, an amateur painter and someone who had a lot of experience in dealing with the mental health issues in his medical practice. He lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, so Theo found it to be a perfect place for Vincent to relocate to.

Van Gogh arrived at Auvers-sur-Oise in May 1890 and soon became a good friend with dr. Gachet. He lived at the local guest house, Auberge Ravoux, and often went to walk at the fields around the village, or next to Oise River, to paint.

Around two months after his arrival, he came back to Auberge Ravoux from the field severely wounded. Police and a local doctor came to help him and to see what has happened. Theo came on a first train from Paris. But, after two days, Vincent died.

There is a beautiful letter written by Emile Bernard about his funeral. In it, he described that day and all the sorrow and grief of Vincent’s friends and fellow painters. You can read the whole letter on a link here. Here is just a short insert from it:

Many people arrived, mainly artists, among whom I recognised Lucien Pissarro and Lauzet, the others I did not know, also some local people who had known him a little, seen him once or twice and who liked him because he was so good-hearted, so human…

How many days to spend in Auvers-sur-Oise?

My recommendation is to spend at least two days in Auvers-sur-Oise. There is so much to see there, and it’s one of the best places to feel Van Gogh’s heritage. That beautiful tranquil atmosphere of the village is really amazing, so I would definitely spend a night there.

I stayed at Hotel des Iris and loved it! It’s right across the street from Institut van Gogh, so it has a great location for exploring all the places related to Vincent’s life. It is a charming boutique hotel with a focus on art in its decoration. I’ve stayed in a room with a wallpaper decorated with Vincent’s ‘Almond Blossom’ (one of my favourite paintings), and I couldn’t have a more suitable place to stay. Hotel is quite new and a beautiful place to stay in Auvers-sur-Oise.

⤷ Read more: Art and culture guide to Paris

Places related to Van Gogh’s life and work in Auvers-sur-Oise

There are so many places linked to Van Gogh’s life and work in Auvers-sur-Oise. But, what I loved the most was the atmosphere in the village. It’s so picturesque and calm, the air is fresh, light is beautiful, and the smell is just gorgeous. I could see why Van Gogh wanted to move there, the second I’ve stepped outside my train.

If you’re going to look for places related to the life of Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise, I would recommend you to start at a local tourist office (address: Parc Van Gogh, 38 Rue du Général de Gaulle, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise). They will give you all the information you need, and, most importantly, a map with all the locations related to Vincent (and some other painters that used to live there).

Van Gogh Statue

Address: Rue Daubigny, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise

Just next to the tourist office is a statue of Van Gogh. He is depicted with his easel and painting material. And on a way to one of his walks and searches for the best location to paint. It was created by Zadkine, the same artist who created Vincent’s statue in Zundert.

⤷ Read more: Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

Institut Van Gogh

Address: 52 Rue du Général de Gaulle, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise

Institut van Gogh is located in a guest house where Vincent lived during his time in Auvers-sur-Oise. There is a small shop and reception on the first floor. The room where Vincent lived and died is located on the second floor.

It’s a simple room with only a small roof window giving it some light. There is nothing inside, beside the chair which reminded me so much of a chair from his ‘Bedroom in the Yellow House’. It looks as if someone was sitting next to Vincent’s bed, taking care of him and being with him during those last moments. Its emptiness is so striking. I could almost imagine him, lying in a bed, smoking his pipe and slowly leaving this world. I felt so emotional inside…

⤷ TIP: There is a restaurant at a ground floor, which looks just as it did in a time Van Gogh lived there. They did a wonderful job with renovating the whole house, but I especially liked the restaurant. Food was among the best I had in France (which is quite hard with all the great food there), so I’ll definitely recommend you to have lunch there.

Panels with information about Vincent’s life next to the Institut van Gogh

Address: next to 52 Rue du Général de Gaulle, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise

Five large info panels about Vincent’s life and work are located just next to the Institut van Gogh. His life in different cities and countries is explained quite well on them. It’s a great place to get some more general information about him.

⤷ Read more: The best museums in Paris

Locations of some of the paintings van Gogh painted in Auvers-sur-Oise

Address: Different locations around Auvers-sur-Oise

Vincent created around eighty paintings during those two months he has spent in Auvers-sur-Oise. On many of them, he has painted different motives from the village. Some of them could still be recognised today. There are panels with reproductions of his paintings around the village, so you can compare those places with his paintings. I especially liked the one in front of the town hall, you can see on the photo bellow.

Church Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption

Address: Rue de l’Église, Auvers-sur-Oise

Walking around Auvers-sur-Oise and discovering beautiful old houses was something I really enjoyed doing. I’ve seen so many irises along the way, and they looked completely the same as they do on Van Gogh’s paintings. I’ve taken a walk from the Institute van Gogh towards the old village church. Vincent painted it on one of his very famous paintings (it’s displayed at the Orsay Museum in Paris today).

With that I have a larger painting of the village church – an effect in which the building appears purplish against a sky of a deep and simple blue of pure cobalt, the stained-glass windows look like ultramarine blue patches, the roof is violet and in part orange. In the foreground a little flowery greenery and some sunny pink sand.

 Cemetery

Address: Avenue du Cimetière, Auvers-sur-Oise

I’ve taken a walk alongside the small road behind the church to the next place I wanted to visit. A local cemetery is a place where Vincent was buried in 1890. His brother Theo died only six months after that. Although he was first buried in the Netherlands, his widow Jo, moved his body later on to France, so he could be next to his brother.

Graves of Vincent and Theo van Gogh are simple but so beautiful. Brothers who loved each other so much, are together now in eternity. And, although in separate tombs, they are connected with the ivy, brought from the garden of Dr. Gachet.

Fields above the village

Address: Start at the cemetery and follow the path in the fields towards the village

The cemetery is surrounded by some huge wheat fields. To see more of the places where Vincent van Gogh painted while living in Auvers-sur-Oise, I’ve decided to walk back to the village through them.

While looking at them, they seemed so familiar. Those colours and the sky… Even the grass looked like I’ve seen it before. And then I realised – those were Vincent’s paintings! I could just imagine how they look with the vibrant colours during the summer months when Vincent was painting them.

That was such a fantastic experience for me. I was able to really step into some of his paintings. Seeing the same colours, even the same texture from his paintings. That walk through the fields above Auvers-sur-Oise, made me really understood some of his landscape paintings more.

Château d’Auvers

Address: Chemin des Berthelées, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise

In the afternoon I visited Château d’Auvers which is a beautiful castle with a great interactive exhibition about Impressionist and post-Impressionist movements. Don’t expect to see many paintings, because there are only a few on display there. However, I really like the way they have explained the origins of modern art through the words of some of the painters that have created it. Development of van Gogh’s art is also very well described.

⤷ Read more: Impressionists in Paris

Maison du Docteur Gachet

Address: 78 Rue Gachet, 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise

Dr. Gachet was one of Vincent’s closest friends while he was living in Auvers-sur-Oise and he visited his house often. Van Gogh also made a few portraits of him and his daughter, and have often painted in his garden.

Dr. Gachet’s house and garden could still be visited today. And it was so exciting to see how his garden still resembles some of Vincent’s paintings so clearly.

River Oise

Address: River Oise, Auvers-sur-Oise

I’ve already mentioned how Auvers-sur-Oise wasn’t a source of inspiration for Van Gogh only. Many other painters spent some time there. And have created many of their paintings in the area. After seeing paintings created by those artists, who visited or lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, I wanted to see one of the most common motives in their paintings – Oise River. So, I’ve taken a walk alongside it and tried to see those reflections on water and colours all of them admired so much.

Auvers-sur-Oise is such a unique and tranquil place. I could understand so well, why after a year Van Gogh has spent in a hospital, he decided to move there. It was definitely a special place for Vincent.

But it was a special place for me, too. I could also feel that inspiration Vincent and other painters have found there. It was in a light, in nature, in that lovely smell… Everywhere. Vincent’s spirit still lives in Auvers-sur-Oise.

You can read all of the posts from my Van Gogh trip below:

Would you like to learn more about Van Gogh’s artworks and places linked to his life and art in the Netherlands, Belgium and France? Check out Culture Tourist Art Webinar: Meet Vincent van Gogh! Click on the picture below to read more and book.

Van Gogh Art Webinar

*My visit to Auvers-sur-Oise and places related to Van Gogh’s life there was a part of my “Follow the Footsteps of Vincent van Gogh” trip. It was supported and organized by the Van Gogh Europe and Institut van Gogh. Many thanks to all of them, lovely guides, Hotel des Iris and everyone else who helped me organise it.

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