Vincent van Gogh | Vincent's Bedroom in Arles
Vincent van Gogh | Vincent's Bedroom in Arles
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- 100% hand-painted oil on canvas
- Delivered Framed & Ready to Hang!
- We stretch (Gallery Wrap) every canvas
- Hanging wire is attached to the back
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About Vincent's Bedroom in Arles by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh painted his own bedroom in the Yellow House in October 1888, while recovering from several days of exhaustion. He was delighted with it and described it to Theo in detail, listing the colour of every object in the room and explaining that the whole picture was meant to suggest rest — that looking at it should rest the mind, or rather the imagination.
Everything is stated flatly and outlined: a bed, two chairs, a table with a jug and basin, a window, his own pictures on the wall. There are no shadows anywhere. He removed them deliberately, wanting the colour to carry the mood on its own without tonal modelling, in the manner of the Japanese prints he collected.
He made three versions. The first hangs in Amsterdam; a second, painted a year later in the asylum at Saint-Rémy, is in Chicago; a smaller third, made for his mother and sister, is in Paris. One detail is worth knowing: the walls read as pale blue now, but Van Gogh painted them violet. The red pigment he mixed in was fugitive and has faded away over 130 years, leaving only the blue behind.
Vincent's Bedroom in Arles at a glance
- Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
- Painted: October 1888, Arles (first of three versions)
- Movement: Post-Impressionism
- Originals: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; Art Institute of Chicago; Musée d'Orsay, Paris
- Medium: Oil on canvas, 72 × 90 cm
Common questions about Vincent's Bedroom in Arles
How many versions of the Bedroom are there?
Three, all by Van Gogh. The first was painted in Arles in October 1888 and is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. He painted a second in September 1889 at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, now in the Art Institute of Chicago, and a smaller third shortly after for his mother and sister, now in the Musée d'Orsay. The three were shown together for the first time in Chicago in 2016.
Where is the Bedroom in Arles?
Depending on the version: Amsterdam, Chicago or Paris. The room itself no longer exists — the Yellow House was damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and demolished afterwards.
Why are there no shadows in the painting?
Van Gogh left them out on purpose. He wrote to Theo that the shadows and cast shadows were suppressed, and that the picture was painted in flat, plain tints like Japanese prints. He wanted colour alone to do the emotional work.
Were the walls always blue?
No. Van Gogh described them as violet, and pigment analysis confirms he used a red lake mixed with blue. That red has faded almost entirely over the past century, leaving the cooler blue we see today. The room was warmer than it now appears.
What does the painting mean?
Van Gogh said it meant rest — nothing more complicated. The room is his own, painted at a hopeful moment while he waited for Gauguin to arrive and share the house. The everything-in-pairs arrangement, two chairs, two pillows, two portraits, is often read as anticipation of company.
Own a hand-painted Bedroom in Arles
This is not a print. Every painting we sell is reproduced in oils on canvas, by hand, by professional artists — no giclée, no computer-generated technique.
This picture is built almost entirely from large areas of flat, unmodulated colour — a red floor, a yellow bed, blue walls — with no shading anywhere to disguise them. Flat colour is the hardest thing for a printing process to hold. Across a broad even area, ink laid down as a pattern of dots drifts and banding appears, so the surface that ought to sit perfectly still starts to shimmer and the calm Van Gogh was chasing leaks out of it. Brushed on by hand in oils, a flat plane stays genuinely flat and genuinely one colour, which is what makes the room restful in the first place.
- A range of sizes — choose yours above.
- Framed and ready to hang, gallery wrap, or rolled canvas if you would rather frame it yourself.
- 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions.
- Free delivery Australia-wide. Australian owned and operated, with a local contact you can actually reach.
Framing Options: You have 3 choices
Option 1. Choose an outer frame - see images below.
You only need to choose one and the painting will be sent to you framed and ready to hang.
* Below is an example of a customer who chose the Gold Ornate frame
Option 2: Choose a Gallery Wrap Stretched Painting.
If you want the frameless modern gallery wrap look then you only need to choose Stretched Gallery Wrap from the finish option dropdown.
You receive your stretched gallery wrap painting ready to hang - with a hanging wire attached behind.
The back of the Stretched Gallery Wrap looks like the image below - it has a hanging wire!
Option 3: Choose Canvas Only if you want to frame the painting yourself.
Your painting will be sent to you in an art tube - you can then frame it yourself or take it to your local framer.
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The quality of the work is ten out of ten. The piece was affordable and the turnaround time was quite quick. What you see is what you get. I’ll definitely be getting my next painting from Direct Art Australia.
My wife already had a couple of pieces of custom ordered paintings she had collected throughout the last few years and with your large selection to choose from she found the perfect complimentary piece to finish off her room.
Great painting. Brightens up my living room.
Amazing piece…. even better than I expected. Thoroughly recommend Direct Art Australia.
This piece of art work exceeded our expectations. It was purchased for a 50th birthday gift for a lady who has everything! She was overwhelmed at the quality of the painting. Thank you art direct!
Product is as good or better than expected. Beautiful quality, very well packaged and delivered as promised. Very happy indeed with this artwork.
