Vincent Van Gogh - The Bedroom in Arles - 3 versions

Bedroom in Arles - First Version - 1888
Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam - Netherlands

When Vincent Van Gogh (1853-90) lived in Arles, he decorated most of the rooms of the house with yellow paintings. It was buy that time that the famous 7 sunflowers paintings were depited. Vincent also painted his room in 3 versions.

The first version of this painting in the Autumm of 1888, during one of the happiest interludes in his life. He belived that his move to Arles would mark a new chapter in his art. He asked his brother, Theo to persuade Paul Gaugain to come and join him and rapidly painted a series of pictures to hang on the walls and create a welcoming atmosphere for his new guest. To a large extent, these paintings were designed simply as decorations for the house, but Van Gogh also wanted to show that his own works could bear comparison with those of Gaugain’s, whose talent he was in awe of.

Recently this first version was thoroughly restored before being sent to an exhibition in Japan. Already returned to Amsterdam, conservationists from the Van Gogh Museum designed a 2D and 3D room in order to have a perspective of how it was. It can be seen here.

Following what Vincent had written to his brother Theo, conservationists tried to achieve the equivalent tones originally used by Vincent. "Calm" or "Repose" is suggested, in a way to avoid contrasts. This means using colors that are equally light or dark – in other words, equivalent tones.

If we look at The bedroom this way, we immediately see what is wrong with it: namely, the walls and the blanket. The walls are too light in tone, and the blanket too dark. The digital impression restores the lavender color of the walls (by removing the white) and brightens the red of the blanket, bringing the tonal values into balance and restoring the sense of repose.

Vincent writes that the only white he wanted in the painting was the reflection in the mirror. As he puts it, the fourth pair of complementary colors, white and black, is represented by the mirror and its frame. At present, this effect is cancelled out by the abundance of white in the walls.

Bedroom in Arles - Second Version - 1889

Museum Fine Arts - Chicago -U.S.A.

In the Bedroom at Arles, many of the items are shown in pairs – two chairs, two pillows, two pairs of pictures – signaling his expectation of companionship. Yet his friendship with Gaugain turned sour just two months after his arrival and Van Gogh had a mental breakdown.

Recuperating in a lunatic asylum in St. Rémy, he painted the third version of the painting, for his mother. Although structurally very similar to the first two, certain details are significantly different. In the first version, Van Gogh painted the floor a rosy pink; on the third he used a brownish-gray color, reflecting his more depressed mood. The two top right-hand paintings are different in each version as well. In the first two versions, the portraits are indistinct and cut off. In this third version, though, they are very much discernible – the one on the left is Van Gogh himself and the one on the right is of his sister, Wil. Ten months after he painted this picture, Van Gogh died in mistery. Today we aren't sure if he killed himself or was killed by a group of children by accident. Will we ever find out the truth?

Bedroom in Arles - Third Version - 1889

 Musée D'Orsay - Paris - France