GAUGUIN AND A BROTHEL IN ARLES

Gauguin’s stay in Arles withVan Gogh in 1888 had a transforming impact on his art partly because it was also a time of sexual awakening, argues Martin Gayford, using newly discovered evidence.

Gauguin and Van Gogh are the odd couple of art. For nine weeks, from 23 October to 23 December 1888, they lived together in 2 Place Lamartine, or the Yellow House, in Arles. This episode has been treated in children’s books and a Hollywood movie – with Kirk Douglas as Vincent and Anthony Quinn as Gauguin. Everybody knows how they quarrelled, and Van Gogh spiralled down into madness. However, in the course of research for a book on the subject, I have been struck by how much remains to be discovered, especially from Gauguin’s point of view. Discussion has always concentrated on the tense relationship between the two painters. But what did Gauguin get out of staying in Arles? His period in the Provençal town was brief but evidently left a strong impression. He described the events in Arles at length in Avant et Après– the series of autobiographic vignettes and fragments that he wrote towards the end of his life – and not only in the famous passage describing his life with Van Gogh. 1 Gauguin, just turned 40, was at a transitional point. The month before he arrived in Arles, while at Pont-Aven in Brittany, he had painted the Vision of the Sermon – the first painting in which he moved decisively away from natural appearances and depicted the images of the mind. To use a handy,

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1 In The Heat (detail) by Paul Gauguin ( 1848-1903 ), 1888. Oil on canvas, 73 x 92 cm. See Figure 2 . Private collection. Photo: Bridgeman ArtLibrary