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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. La Mousmé La Mousmé1888
  2. Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois) Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois)1888
  3. Cypresses Cypresses1889
  4. Self-Portrait Self-Portrait1889
  5. Self-Portrait as a Painter Self-Portrait as a Painter1887–88
  6. La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill) La Maison de La Crau (The Old Mill)1888
  7. Wheatfield with Crows Wheatfield with Crows1890
  8. The Church at Auvers The Church at Auvers1890
  9. Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen1884, finished in autumn 1885
  10. The Old Church Tower at Nuenen (‘The Peasants’ Churchyard’) The Old Church Tower at Nuenen (‘The Peasants’ Churchyard’)May–June 1885
  11. Poplars near Nuenen Poplars near Nuenen1885
  12. The Harvest The HarvestJune 1888
  13. Terrace of a Café at Night (Place du Forum) Terrace of a Café at Night (Place du Forum)1888
  14. L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux) L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux)1890
  15. 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
  16. The Smoker (Le Fumeur) The Smoker (Le Fumeur)February 1888
  17. Gauguin’s Chair Gauguin’s ChairNovember 1888
  18. Fisherman’s Wife Fisherman’s Wifeearly August 1883
  19. Footbridge across a Ditch Footbridge across a DitchAugust–September 1883
  20. The Road Menders The Road Menders1889
  21. Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre1887
  22. The Yellow House (The Street) The Yellow House (The Street)1888
  23. The Siesta The Siesta1889–90
  24. Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin1888
  25. Green Wheat Field Green Wheat Field1889
  26. Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles1888
  27. Field with Irises near Arles Field with Irises near Arles1888
  28. The White Orchard The White OrchardApril 1888
  29. Le café de nuit (The Night Café) Le café de nuit (The Night Café)1888
  30. Pine Trees at Sunset Pine Trees at SunsetDecember 1889
  31. Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat1887
  32. Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette1886
  33. The Old Tower in the Fields The Old Tower in the FieldsAugust 1884
  34. Self-Portrait Self-Portraitspring 1887
  35. Pink Peach Trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’) Pink Peach Trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’)about 30 March 1888
  36. Country Road in Provence by Night Country Road in Provence by Night1890
  37. Portrait of Madame Trabuc Portrait of Madame Trabucautumn 1889
  38. The Green Wheatfield behind the Asylum The Green Wheatfield behind the Asylum1889
  39. The Red Vineyard: Montmajour The Red Vineyard: Montmajour1888
  40. The Potato Eaters The Potato Eaters1885
  41. The Zouave The ZouaveJune 1888
  42. Women on the Peat Moor Women on the Peat MoorOctober 1883
  43. Ploughed Fields (‘The Furrows’) Ploughed Fields (‘The Furrows’)September 1888
  44. Peasants Planting Potatoes Peasants Planting Potatoes1884
  45. The Olive Trees The Olive Trees1889
  46. The Starry Night The Starry Night1889
  47. Street and Stairs with Five Figures Street and Stairs with Five Figures1890

  48. Principal work of the exhibition

    Avenue of Poplars in Autumn Avenue of Poplars in AutumnOctober 1884