Tree roots tell story of Van Gogh's final hours
Postcard paints a picture of Van Gogh’s final hours
Location: Auvers-sur-Oise, France
While searching through his archives
a researcher found a postcard
which bore a striking resemblance
to Van Gogh’s final painting ‘Tree Roots’
Courtesy: Arthenon
Courtesy: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(SOUNDBITE) (English) VAN GOGH MUSEUM DIRECTOR, EMILIE GORDENKER, SAYING:
"What makes it so extraordinary is you can follow that place on in the course of time. It's almost like you're in a time machine. You can go back to the place where Vincent was, the way he saw it, with the colors and his particular composition."
The discovery gives scholars new insight
into Van Gogh's final hours
and suggests the artist
who struggled with his mental health
spent his last day alive painting
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR OF THE VAN GOGH INSTITUTE, WOUTER VAN DER VEEN, SAYING:
"What this discovery makes clearer than it already was is that he spent all his day painting. And that sounds a little bit obvious, but when Van Gogh painted, he had to be completely sound of mind because he was very focused when he painted, he was not a lunatic just erratically throwing his paints on the canvas as he is sometimes depicted, he was very careful in the way he worked. As he said, 'I have to think a very long time before I can work quickly'. So everything he does is carefully thought and carried out."
Courtesy: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
