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Harry MC walks in the footsteps of Van Gogh.
During a recent visit to Provence Harry MC dropped by Arles whilst scoping out sites for an upcoming series of works based on locations of Van Gogh's paintings. One of these is a cafe painted to resemble the one in Café Terrace at Night (1888), which is one of the artists most notable works. The reconstructed Cafe la Nuit attracted thousands of tourists each day and although described by fellow traders as "a bit of a rip off" it was very well executed. Sadly it's no more, closed after the owners had a bit of a run in with the tax authorities.
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The original café, painted by Van Gogh was not actually located in the Place du Forum, in the heart of Arles where the reconstruction cafe is sited. Rather, the original cafe was in Place Lamartine, in the area of Arles where Van Gogh once lived. Sadly, in 1944, the property was destroyed by Allied bombing. Hopefully things will get sorted out and the site in Place du Forum can reopen. As the picture above shows, taken by Harry a few years earlier, it was certainly a popular attraction for Van Gogh fans.
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Van Gogh had intended to paint a night scene for some time, but not in the usual shades of black and grey. He painted the gas-lit terrace of a cafe in Place du Forum at night, in order to capture the true colours of this nocturnal street scene. He was pleased with the result “I believe that an abundance of gaslight, which, after all, is yellow and orange, intensifies blue.” Later, astronomical research showed he painted the constellations precisely as they appeared on the night of 16th or 17th September 1888.
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Café Terrace at Night (1888) by Vincent Van Gogh.
Another site in Arles for Van Gogh fans is the Langlois Bridge. While the bridge today is a reconstruction, relocated from its original position, it remains a symbolic site and Harry MC joined other Van Gogh enthusiasts taking a look. It's about a 30-minute walk south of the Archaeology Museum in Arles. Though the walk itself might not be particularly scenic, and the bridge arguably looks more striking in Van Gogh’s paintings, it’s worth the trip if you’re on a Van Gogh pilgrimage or like Harry, scoping out for a future project. Harry certainly found it rewarding to see this iconic spot in person.Van Gogh created several versions of the Langlois Bridge, the most famous being the one housed in the Kröller-Müller Museum, which depicts women washing clothes in the canal. Another notable version, held at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, shows a lady with an umbrella following a horse and cart across the bridge. This charming piece combines technical precision and artistic flair, reflecting the style of bridge that reminded Van Gogh of his Dutch homeland. From his letters to his brother Theo, we know that Van Gogh used a perspective frame to assist in constructing these works.
Van Gogh's painting and Langlois Bridge as it looks today.
Vincent van Gogh in Arles including, of course, the fateful day of the "ear incident".
​Vincent Van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888, seeking to escape the pressures of Paris and improve his health. He was drawn to the bright light and vivid natural colors of Provence. Initially, his plan was to stay in Arles temporarily “to get his bearings” before moving on to Marseille, according to his brother Theo. However, Van Gogh found Arles so inspiring that he decided to settle there and dedicated himself to his art with remarkable energy.
His time in Arles became one of the most productive periods of his career, during which he created over 300 paintings and drawings. Far from painting solely for pleasure or vocation, Van Gogh was focused on making a living from his art. He regularly wrote to Theo, requesting large quantities of paint and canvas from Paris, always emphasising the importance of securing a good discount. Van Gogh strategically painted subjects he believed would appeal to buyers, including almond blossoms, sunflowers, and portraits of local characters. He often created multiple versions of the same subject, calling them “absolutely equivalent and identical repetitions.” His work was frequently executed at extraordinary speed. he once described completing a piece as being “knocked off in one hour.”
During his stay in Arles, Van Gogh envisioned establishing an artist’s collective. He proposed that the group’s work could be sold by Theo in Paris, with the artists benefiting from shared resources and a stronger negotiating position with dealers. With this goal in mind, he rented rooms in the "Yellow House" on the corner of Place Lamartine and set up a studio. He also worked tirelessly to persuade Paul Gauguin, whose work he greatly admired, to join him in Arles. Van Gogh wrote to Gauguin, “Even while working, I never cease to think about this enterprise of setting up a studio with yourself and me as permanent residents.”
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Gauguin eventually arrived in October 1888. Theo expressed his hope for their collaboration in a letter to Vincent, saying, “So Gauguin’s coming; that will make a big change in your life. I hope that your efforts will succeed in making your house a place where artists will feel at home.” At first, the partnership proved fruitful, with both artists producing exceptional work. However, their approaches to art were fundamentally different: Gauguin painted from memory and imagination, while Van Gogh preferred to paint directly from life. These differences, coupled with their contrasting personalities, led to increasing tension. Their discussions about art, including the works of Delacroix and Rembrandt, were often intense and “excessively electric.” Van Gogh likened their debates to an overworked battery, leaving them mentally drained.
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The situation reached a breaking point on December 23, 1888. After a heated argument, Van Gogh became severely agitated and reportedly threatened Gauguin with a razor. This led Gauguin to consider returning to Paris, an event that may have precipitated Van Gogh’s infamous mental breakdown. That evening, Van Gogh cut off his left ear, wrapped it in paper, and gave it to a local prostitute, who fainted upon receiving it. The next day, the police intervened, and Van Gogh was admitted to the hospital for treatment. Following this incident, his doctor recommended that he be sent to a special asylum. The dramatic episode became the talk of Arles, especially after a report on the “ear incident” appeared in the local newspaper, Forum Républicain, the following Sunday.
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So, there you have it, Van Gogh and Harry MC have a lot in common. They both found Arles to be inspiring, both have created multiple versions of the same subject and both can execute work at extraordinary speed, although Harry says "knocking something off in an hour " is not something he'd like to contemplate, likewise an "ear incident".
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Pictured above is Paul Gauguin’s painting of Van Gogh, painting a vase of sunflowers. But all is not what it seems, according to the Van Gogh Museum “it was December and far too late in the year for sunflowers. But it’s quite probable that Van Gogh painted a copy of one of his own sunflower pictures around this time”.
Harry MC finds somewhere in Arles for quiet contemplation - Les Alyscamps
Les Alyscamps is a former Roman necropolis, renowned as one of the ancient world’s most significant burial sites. Following Roman tradition, burials took place outside the city walls, often along the roads leading into a city, which were lined with elaborate memorials. The Alyscamps was consecrated in the 3rd century by Saint Trophime, the first bishop of Arles, as a Christian burial ground. Its prestige as a final resting place led to overcrowding, with sarcophagi stacked up to three layers deep and coffins brought in from across Europe.
The cemetery remained in use through the medieval period but gradually fell out of favor. By the Renaissance, its decline was so marked that it became a source of stone and sarcophagi, with city officials even gifting these burial monuments to distinguished visitors. Further damage occurred in the 19th century due to the construction of a railway and canal. Despite this, Les Alyscamps survived and is now a protected monument. Today, it is a tranquil and atmospheric site to explore, offering visitors a glimpse into history and the opportunity to view the unfinished 11th-century St-Honorat chapel.
In October 1888, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin selected Les Alyscamps as the first location for their painting expeditions in Arles, working side by side to capture its unique character. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris describes the 19th-century site as being dominated by avenues of cypresses and a scattering of empty sarcophagi, lending it a melancholic air.
Gauguin’s interpretation of Les Alyscamps diverged from its historical significance. His painting focuses instead on the serene landscape, featuring the Romanesque church of St-Honorat in the background, fields, woods, and a canal where three figures, a man and two women dressed as Arlésiennes, are strolling. Interestingly, Gauguin, who did not find Arlésiennes particularly attractive, gave the piece the ironic title Landscape or Three Graces with the Temple of Venus when sending it to Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother and art dealer.
Gauguin’s work, characteristic of his Synthetism, excludes historical references and instead employs juxtaposed masses, hatching, and highly saturated hues for a subjective and decorative interpretation of the landscape. His serene composition contrasts sharply with Van Gogh’s contemporary works of the same location, which convey a more tormented vision of Les Alyscamps.
Harry MC was on location in Barcelona so, of course, dropped by Foundation Miró
"I try to apply colours like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music".- Joan Miró
Joan Miró: Shaped by Landscapes, Defined by Rebellion
Born in Barcelona in 1893, Joan Miró was profoundly shaped by the landscapes and cultures of Mont-roig, Paris, Majorca, New York, and Japan. The rural town of Mont-roig in Catalonia provided a grounding contrast to the intellectual energy of 1920s Paris, where he engaged with surrealist poets. In the 1940s, exposure to abstract expressionism in New York further expanded his artistic vision. During the turmoil of World War II, Miró returned from exile in France to settle in Palma, Majorca, where his friend, the architect Josep Lluís Sert, designed a fabulous studio that would become his sanctuary and creative hub.
Miró’s deep connection to Mont-roig and later Majorca was fundamental to his artistic development. His fascination with the land, everyday objects, and the natural world fueled his experimental approach, driving him beyond academic conventions in pursuit of a 'universal artistic language'. Rejecting rigid classifications, he remained independent of any single movement, forging a distinctive, symbolic style rich in spontaneity and imagination.
Though reserved in his manner, Miró expressed his rebellious spirit and acute sensitivity to political and social upheaval through his work. These opposing forces, his introspective nature and his bold artistic defiance gave rise to a uniquely personal visual language that remains one of the most influential and enduring in 20th century art.
Prades, The Village by Joan Miró 1917, oil on canvas.
Joan Miró’s Prades, The Village is thematically linked to his earlier Fauvist style rural scenes and serves as a precursor to his surrealist vision. This connection is evident in The Tilled Field (1923), where Miró blends human, animal, and vegetal forms into a dreamlike landscape, reflecting his deep connection to nature and Catalonia. His influences range from Romanesque frescoes and medieval tapestries to prehistoric cave paintings and Catalan ceramics. The painting also carries political symbolism, with flags representing Catalonia’s struggle against Spanish repression under Primo de Rivera, signaling Miró’s support for Catalan identity. And nice stripes!
You can visit Miro's studio in Majorca as the artist bequeathed it to the public. Designed by Josep Lluís Sert, a prestigious architect and friend of Miró’s, representative of the modern architectural movement and Dean of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design at the time. Sert had been disqualified from working as an architect in Spain for 20 years, and so the studio marked a turning point in his career. Through numerous plans and sketches, Sert had designed a life-size studio where tradition was combined with innovation. The concrete structure contrasts with more traditional Mediterranean materials, like stone or clay. The L-shaped studio is on two levels, with a vaulted roof.
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In Barcelona Harry MC also visited Museum Tàpies which was created in 1984 by the artist Antoni Tàpies to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. It opened in the former Editorial Montaner y Simón publishing house, a building that was the 1881 work of the modernist architect Luís Domènech i Montaner and the first in the Eixample district to integrate industrial typology and technology, combining exposed brick and iron into the fabric of the city centre.
The Museum Tàpies’ building is “hemmed in” between the two side walls of taller adjacent buildings. To elevate its height and underscore its new identity, Antoni Tàpies created the sculpture crowning the building entitled Cloud and Chair, 1990.
The museum takes a ‘plural, interdisciplinary approach’ and aims to set up cooperative ventures with experts in different fields of learning to contribute to a better understanding of contemporary art and culture. The museum owns one of the most complete collections of Tàpies’ work, mostly made up of donations by Antoni and Teresa Tàpies.
A night time view over Place Catalunya in the centre a Barcelona. No trip to the city would be complete with a trip to the roof of Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, a church devoted to the Holy Family. One of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous works, the church is perhaps best known for still being under construction since 1882, with works funded purely by donations. Take a lift to the top of the towers for a panoramic view of the city and marvel at the ornate architecture. The nativity facade and crypt have also been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status.
