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LACRIMAE RERVM Gallery

Exhibition

The Great Consolation

So it remains a great consolation to me that the work goes forward rather than back.

To his mother, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, 19 September 1889 · letter 803

The same phrase in Vincent van Gogh’s hand
In Vincent’s hand: letter 803, sheet 1, lines 29–31 · Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, b654 V/1962

Vincent Willem van Gogh 1853–1890

Avenue of Poplars in Autumn
Avenue of Poplars in Autumn, October 1884

Ah! mon cher ami, faire de la peinture ce qu’est déjà avant nous la musique de Berlioz et de Wagner.... un art consolateur pour les coeurs navrés! Il n’y a encore que quelques uns qui comme vous et moi le sentent!!!

Ah, my dear friend, to make of painting what the music of Berlioz and Wagner has already been before us… an art of consolation for broken hearts! There are as yet only a few who feel this as you and I do!!!

To Paul Gauguin, Arles, 21 January 1889 · letter 739

je croirais presque que ces toiles vous diront ce que je ne sais dire en paroles, ce que je vois de sain et de fortifiant dans la campagne.

I would almost believe that these canvases will tell you what I cannot say in words, what I see that is healthy and fortifying in the country.

To Theo and Jo van Gogh, Auvers-sur-Oise, about 10 July 1890 · letter 898
Gallery number
LR 4
Section
Painting
Works
100
Opened
25 November 2008

Appendices · Appendices

  1. ISupplementary materialWhere each work is held: collection, acquisition, inscriptions, exhibitions, literature.
  2. IIIndexEvery work in the exhibition in a single table: dates, catalogue numbers, collections, inventory numbers.
  3. IIIDossier of the principal workAvenue of Poplars in Autumn: letters and autographs, verses copied in his hand, first notices, canvas and frame, provenance, exhibitions, literature.
  4. IVCorrectionsWhat was wrong in the record of the exhibition, and when it was put right; latest correction: 4 October 2026.

Music of the room

Die Ehre Gottes aus der NaturLudwig van Beethoven · sung by Friedrich SchorrBrunswick 10160-A, matrix 12901, 1924

Vincent names Beethoven in a letter to Theo from Saint-Rémy in the same September days of 1889 as the letter to his mother that gave the exhibition its title. Copying Millet, he compares himself to a performer: ‘si telle personne jouera du Beethoven elle y ajoutera son interprétation personelle – en musique et alors surtout pour le chant’: ‘if this or that person plays Beethoven, that person will bring a personal interpretation to it – in music, and then above all in singing’ (letter 805). What he himself heard the letters do not say. Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur, the fourth of six songs on poems by Gellert, op. 48 (1803), is a paraphrase of the nineteenth Psalm: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God.’

  1. Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-MerJune 1888
  2. Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers Still Life: Vase with Twelve SunflowersAugust 1888
  3. Portrait of Madame Trabuc Portrait of Madame Trabucautumn 1889
  4. Starry Night over the Rhône Starry Night over the RhôneSeptember 1888
  5. Irises Irises1890
  6. The Harvest The HarvestJune 1888
  7. The Old Tower in the Fields The Old Tower in the FieldsAugust 1884
  8. The Church at Auvers The Church at Auvers1890
  9. L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux) L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux)1890
  10. Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen1884, finished in autumn 1885
  11. Ears of Wheat Ears of WheatJune 1890
  12. Women Picking Olives Women Picking Olives1889
  13. Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois) Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois)1888
  14. Portrait of Trabuc, an Attendant at Saint Paul’s Hospital Portrait of Trabuc, an Attendant at Saint Paul’s Hospital1889
  15. Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre1887
  16. The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt) The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt)May 1890
  17. The De Ruijterkade in Amsterdam The De Ruijterkade in AmsterdamOctober 1885
  18. Fisherman’s Wife Fisherman’s Wifeearly August 1883
  19. The Potato Eaters The Potato Eaters1885
  20. Landscape with Rising Sun Landscape with Rising Sun1889
  21. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear1889
  22. Café Table with Absinthe Café Table with Absinthe1887
  23. The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin) The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin)1889
  24. The Siesta The Siesta1889–90
  25. Peasants Planting Potatoes Peasants Planting Potatoes1884
  26. Shoes Shoes1886
  27. La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill) La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill)1888
  28. Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun Wheat Field with Reaper and SunJune–September 1889
  29. Irises Irises1889

  30. Principal work of the exhibition

    Avenue of Poplars in Autumn Avenue of Poplars in AutumnOctober 1884
  31. Cows in the Meadow Cows in the Meadow1883
  32. Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette1886
  33. The Red Vineyard: Montmajour The Red Vineyard: Montmajour1888
  34. La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustine-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851–1930) La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle; Augustine-Alix Pellicot Roulin, 1851–1930)1889
  35. Street and Stairs with Five Figures Street and Stairs with Five Figures1890
  36. Flower Beds in Holland Flower Beds in Holland1883
  37. The Zouave The ZouaveJune 1888
  38. Reminiscence of Brabant Reminiscence of BrabantMarch–April 1890
  39. Pietà (after Delacroix) Pietà (after Delacroix)September 1889
  40. Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles1888
  41. The Olive Trees The Olive Trees1889
  42. The Bedroom at Arles The Bedroom at Arles1889
  43. Poplars near Nuenen Poplars near Nuenen1885
  44. Self-Portrait with Felt Hat Self-Portrait with Felt HatDecember 1886 – January 1887
  45. Wheatfield with Crows Wheatfield with Crows1890
  46. Self-Portrait Self-Portrait1889
  47. The Road Menders The Road Menders1889
  48. Olive Trees Olive Trees1889