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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. Street and Stairs with Five Figures Street and Stairs with Five Figures1890
  2. The Starry Night The Starry Night1889
  3. Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre Vegetable Gardens in Montmartre1887
  4. View of a Butcher’s Shop View of a Butcher’s ShopFebruary 1888
  5. Roses Roses1890
  6. Moulin de la Galette Moulin de la Galette1886
  7. Pine Trees at Sunset Pine Trees at SunsetDecember 1889
  8. Cypresses Cypresses1889
  9. Landscape at Twilight Landscape at TwilightJune 1890
  10. The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin) The Postman (Joseph-Étienne Roulin)1889
  11. Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat1887
  12. Pink Peach Trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’) Pink Peach Trees (‘Souvenir de Mauve’)about 30 March 1888
  13. Evening Landscape Evening Landscape1885
  14. Peasants Planting Potatoes Peasants Planting Potatoes1884
  15. Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles Entrance to the Public Gardens in Arles1888
  16. View of the Sea at Scheveningen View of the Sea at ScheveningenAugust 1882
  17. Ploughed Fields (‘The Furrows’) Ploughed Fields (‘The Furrows’)September 1888
  18. Self-Portrait as a Painter Self-Portrait as a Painter1887–88
  19. Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette1886
  20. Portrait of Trabuc, an Attendant at Saint Paul’s Hospital Portrait of Trabuc, an Attendant at Saint Paul’s Hospital1889
  21. Green Wheat Field Green Wheat Field1889
  22. The Yellow House (The Street) The Yellow House (The Street)1888
  23. Irises Irises1890
  24. Irises Irises1889
  25. Wheat Field with Reaper and Sun Wheat Field with Reaper and SunJune–September 1889
  26. The Potato Eaters The Potato Eaters1885
  27. Olive Trees Olive Trees1889
  28. The Old Tower in the Fields The Old Tower in the FieldsAugust 1884
  29. L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux) L’Arlésienne (Portrait of Madame Ginoux)1890
  30. Pietà (after Delacroix) Pietà (after Delacroix)September 1889
  31. Loom with Weaver Loom with WeaverApril–May 1884
  32. Starry Night over the Rhône Starry Night over the RhôneSeptember 1888
  33. Mountains at Saint-Rémy Mountains at Saint-Rémy1889
  34. Farm with Stacks of Peat Farm with Stacks of PeatOctober 1883
  35. Portrait of the Artist Portrait of the Artist1889
  36. The Road Menders The Road Menders1889
  37. Still Life with Bible Still Life with BibleOctober 1885
  38. Footbridge across a Ditch Footbridge across a DitchAugust–September 1883
  39. First Steps, after Millet First Steps, after Millet1890
  40. The Sower The Sower1888
  41. Poppies in the Field Poppies in the Field1889
  42. The De Ruijterkade in Amsterdam The De Ruijterkade in AmsterdamOctober 1885
  43. Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois) Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois)1888
  44. The Green Vineyard The Green Vineyardabout 3 October 1888
  45. Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear1889
  46. The Bedroom at Arles The Bedroom at Arles1889
  47. The Lover (Portrait of Lieutenant Milliet) The Lover (Portrait of Lieutenant Milliet)September–October 1888
  48. The Green Wheatfield behind the Asylum The Green Wheatfield behind the Asylum1889