In the spring of 1889, Vincent van Gogh left the bustling streets of Arles to voluntarily settle at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This peaceful place, surrounded by cypresses, olive trees, and sunlit fields, became for him both a refuge and a source of inspiration.
During one year, the artist created more than 150 paintings there, among the most moving of his career. Between inner suffering and wonder at the Provençal nature, Van Gogh transforms his psychic torments into a burst of swirling forms, vibrant colors, and powerful compositions.
The period of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence marks a decisive stage in his work: one where painting becomes an outlet, a form of healing, an intimate dialogue between man and the landscape.
This is where The Starry Night, Irises, Wheat Field with Cypresses, and many other masterpieces are born, all imbued with a rare emotional intensity.
Through this journey in the South, Van Gogh offers a transcendent vision of nature, both spiritual and visceral.
In this blog, we invite you to explore this unique artistic interlude, where the light of the South meets the depth of the soul.
🟢 Provence as therapy: between isolation and inspiration
In May 1889, exhausted by a series of psychic crises and deep emotional instability, Vincent van Gogh made a radical decision: to isolate himself from the world by entering the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. This choice was not imposed, but voluntary. The artist was primarily seeking a peaceful environment, far from the turmoil, where he could regain a fragile balance and continue painting.
The monastery converted into a health home is surrounded by a landscape of striking beauty: enclosed gardens, olive groves, tall cypresses, hills bathed in light. This environment becomes an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Van Gogh. Despite his inner suffering, he finds there a powerful connection with nature, a silence conducive to introspection, and an ideal atmosphere for creation.
In Saint-Rémy, his routine is strict but precious: whenever he can, he paints. He observes the surroundings from his bedroom window or goes out, accompanied, into the asylum gardens to capture the variations of light and shapes. The natural Provençal setting, with its vibrant clarity and lively landscapes, becomes a mirror in which Van Gogh projects his deepest emotions.
This stay marks a break in his way of creating: the colors become more vibrant, the shapes more expressive, the compositions more alive. Provence acts like a luminous balm on his invisible wounds.
🔵 A style in transition: painting as an outlet
In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Van Gogh's painting undergoes a profound metamorphosis. More than a simple aesthetic change, it is an inner transformation reflected in every canvas. The gesture becomes more instinctive, the color bolder, the composition more tormented. It is here that Van Gogh crosses the boundary between post-impressionism and what would later be called expressionism.
His paintings created at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum bear witness to a visceral art, where each brushstroke seems to convey a raw emotion. The turbulent skies, the trees with serpentine shapes, the fields stirred by the wind are all metaphors for his inner turmoil.
Provençal light plays a central role: it illuminates the forms but does not soften them. It reveals the texture, accentuates the contrasts, amplifies the rhythm of the composition. The burning yellows, intense blues, deep greens become vectors of a new expressiveness. The pictorial material, dense and swirling, seems animated with its own life.
In this solitude filled with silence and light, Van Gogh transforms his malaise into art. His painting is no longer just observation: it becomes an outlet, a prayer, a silent cry. It is in Saint-Rémy that his style reaches an unprecedented emotional power, combining the beauty of nature and the intensity of the soul.
🌌 Zoom on 5 must-see works from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
During his year in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Vincent van Gogh created some of his most famous paintings. These works, born in the silence of the asylum and under the vibrant light of the South, capture the soul of Provence while reflecting the artist's inner storms. Here are five emblematic masterpieces from this period of intense creation:
🌠 The Starry Night (1889)
Painted from the window of his room in the asylum, The Starry Night is undoubtedly Van Gogh's most famous work. Celestial swirls, a bright moon, black cypresses standing like flames: everything is movement, energy, emotion.
This painting transcends reality: it does not depict a night, it evokes its soul. Behind this almost cosmic vision, one senses a quest for peace, a search for meaning in the infinity of the sky.
🌸 The Irises (1889)
In the enclosed garden of the asylum, Van Gogh discovers the blooming irises. He creates a canvas of striking beauty, where each petal seems to breathe. The shades of blue, violet, and green converse in a soothing harmony.
Far from the turmoil, Les Iris embody a suspended moment, a floral expression of serenity and hope. It is one of the rare works where a form of gentleness shines through.
🌾 Wheat Field with Cypresses (1889)
This iconic painting condenses the dramatic intensity of Provençal landscapes. Under a tumultuous sky, the wheat waves in vivid spirals, dominated by the fierce verticality of the cypresses.
The composition expresses the tension between nature and the spirit, between life in motion and human anguish. Van Gogh achieves a rare symbolic power here.
🌳 The Olive Trees (1889)
The artist dedicates several canvases to olive trees, millenary trees that he perceives as almost mystical beings. Their gnarled trunks, silvery foliage, and grounding in the earth evoke resilience, wisdom, and timelessness.
Through these canvases, Van Gogh explores the changing light, natural rhythms, and spirituality of the Provençal landscapes.
🏞️ Views of Saint-Rémy and the mountains
Finally, Van Gogh paints numerous views of the surroundings of the asylum: rocky hills, country roads, valleys bathed in light. These landscapes convey a more peaceful contemplation, a tender gaze cast upon the outside world.
Each curved line, each chromatic contrast reflects a nature both real and dreamed, where the visible becomes emotional language.
🌿 The light of Provence: revealer of the soul
In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, light is not just a natural phenomenon: it becomes a presence, a living force, almost spiritual. For Vincent van Gogh, this clarity of the South, warm and vibrant, transforms his way of painting and intensifies his connection to the world.
Under the Provençal sky, the colors explode. The yellows become sunny, the blues deep, the greens intense. This light amplifies contrasts, reveals shapes, gives relief to the texture. Van Gogh does not just depict what he sees: he captures the energy of the landscape, the vibration of reality.
Each canvas becomes a sensory experience. The wheat fields light up like oceans of gold, the black cypresses rise like flames, the mountains stand out against a moving sky. The light, omnipresent, transcends nature to reveal its soul.
It is no coincidence that the works from this period are among the most expressive of his career. The Provençal light allows Van Gogh to powerfully convey what he feels: hope, melancholy, wonder, anxiety. Through it, he gives form to his deepest emotions, with a deeply moving sincerity.
In the paintings created in Saint-Rémy, Provence is no longer just a backdrop: it becomes the reflection of a man in search of inner light.
🖼️ The artistic heritage of Saint-Rémy: a unique work
The period that Vincent van Gogh spent in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence remains one of the most prolific, but also one of the most poignant in his artistic journey. In just twelve months, the artist produced nearly 150 canvases, several of which are now considered absolute masterpieces in the history of painting.
What distinguishes this period is not only the quantity of works produced, but above all their emotional depth and their expressive power. Each painting from Saint-Rémy seems to be traversed by a unique tension: that between the artist's inner suffering and the peaceful beauty of the Provençal nature.
Le style de Van Gogh atteint ici une intensité nouvelle. Les formes deviennent plus libres, les couleurs plus audacieuses, les compositions plus dynamiques. Il ne cherche plus à représenter fidèlement le réel, mais à le faire ressentir, à transmettre une vérité plus intime, plus humaine.
It is during this phase that Van Gogh comes closest to Expressionism, long before this movement was recognized. He paves the way for a new way of painting: a painting of raw emotion, of the world seen from within.
Today, the works from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence are preserved in the world's greatest museums: the MoMA in New York (The Starry Night), the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam… Proof that this period, born in the silence of an asylum, has managed to transcend centuries to touch hearts.
🎨 Oil reproductions: bringing Saint-Rémy into your home
Admiring a work by Van Gogh painted in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is to feel the full power of a connection between art and nature, between the light of the South and the intensity of the human soul. At Alpha Reproduction, we allow you to bring this emotion into your daily life through our hand-painted reproductions, faithful to the masterpieces created by the artist during this unforgettable period.
Each painting is reproduced in oil on canvas, using the traditional techniques of the Impressionist masters. Our copyist artists strive to restore the texture, the energy of the brushstroke, the depth of the colors, and the vibrancy of the light as Van Gogh conceived them in Saint-Rémy.
Our reproductions are:
-
Entirely hand-painted, without printing or digital process,
-
Customizable in sizes, to fit all spaces,
-
Available with high-end frames for an elegant display,
-
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, guaranteeing the exclusivity of the handcrafted work.
To offer your interior The Starry Night, Irises, or a Wheat Field with Cypresses is to appropriate a fragment of pure beauty, born from the light of Provence and the soul of a genius.
🌞 Why choose a reproduction from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Acquiring a reproduction of a painting by Vincent van Gogh painted in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is much more than a decorative gesture: it is an invitation to live with the emotion, light, and depth of a unique period in the history of art.
The works created at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum carry within them a rare expressive power, blending the artist's torments with the vibrant beauty of nature. They illuminate the space, touch the soul, and create an atmosphere that is both soothing and lively.
By choosing a hand-painted reproduction from this period, you:
-
Bring the Southern light into your home, with its sunny yellows and deep blues,
-
Add a strong emotional dimension to your decor, inspired by Van Gogh's inner quest,
-
Own a meaningful work, of hope and raw beauty,
-
Support traditional craftsmanship, through paintings made by hand respecting ancient techniques,
-
Recreate at home the solar intensity of Provence, as Van Gogh felt and sublimated it.
Whether you are drawn to the mystical energy of The Starry Night, the poetic freshness of the Irises, or the meditative strength of the Olive Trees, a reproduction from this period will allow you to bring a timeless work, full of soul and light, into your home.
🌟 Conclusion: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, land of eternal inspiration
In Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Vincent van Gogh found much more than a place of rest: he discovered a world bathed in light, a setting of raw nature, a silent space where art could become healing.
In the solitude of the asylum and the untouched beauty of Provence, he painted with urgency, with sincerity, with an intensity that still transcends time. The Starry Night, Irises, Olive Trees, Wheat Fields… so many works that bear witness to a deeply human gaze, sensitive to every vibration of the world.
These paintings, born of pain but bathed in hope, continue today to move, inspire, and soothe.
At Alpha Reproduction, we are proud to bring this luminous period back to life through our hand-painted reproductions, faithful to the soul and texture of the originals.
➔ Bring into your home a work born from Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Let the light of the South and the emotion of Van Gogh illuminate your walls – and perhaps a little more.
❓ FAQ – Vincent van Gogh in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
🌻 Why did Vincent van Gogh go to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence?
In May 1889, Vincent van Gogh decided to voluntarily admit himself to the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Weakened by mental disorders, he sought a calm environment to heal and continue painting in serene conditions. The beauty of the Provençal landscapes and the light of the South quickly became major sources of inspiration.
🌻 Which famous works did Van Gogh paint in Saint-Rémy?
Van Gogh created more than 150 works there in one year, including some of the most iconic:
-
The Starry Night
-
The Irises
-
Wheat Field with Cypress
-
The Olive Trees
-
Several views of Saint-Rémy and the mountains
These paintings are marked by great expressiveness and a unique luminous intensity.
🌻 Where can Van Gogh's works created in Saint-Rémy be seen today?
The works painted in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence are now preserved in several major international museums:
-
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (The Starry Night)
-
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
-
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
-
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Some canvases also belong to private collections.
🌻 Can we buy an accurate reproduction of these paintings?
Yes. At Alpha Reproduction, we offer reproductions:
-
Hand-painted in oil on canvas
-
Customizable in sizes and frames
-
Faithful to Van Gogh's original works
-
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity
➔ Discover our collection dedicated to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and bring the vibrant soul of the South into your home.
