''Les Arènes'' is a painting by
Vincent van Gogh executed in
Arles, in November or December 1888, during the period of time when
Paul Gauguin was living with him in The
Yellow House. The bullfight season in Arles that year started on
Easter Sunday 1April and ended on 21October. Van Gogh's painting is therefore not a study of nature but done from memory. Gauguin encouraged van Gogh to work in the studio in this manner. The painting may not be finished as the paint is very thinly applied, and patches of bare
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
show through in places.
[Gayford, Martin. ''The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles'', Fig Tree, Penguin, 2006, . page 152]
It seems that members of
the Roulin Family
''The Roulin Family'' is a group of portrait paintings Vincent van Gogh executed in Arles in 1888 and 1889 on Joseph, his wife Augustine and their three children: Armand, Camille and Marcelle. This series is unique in many ways. Although Van ...
are depicted in this portrait, and the woman in Arlésienne costume has the profile of
Madame Ginoux Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
.
A matter of weeks after painting this canvas, van Gogh cut off part of his own ear. One of the many theories about this notorious incident is that the
bullfights (or "bull games" as they are called in Arles) made a deep impression on van Gogh, in particular the custom of severing one ear of a defeated bull. The victorious matador circles the arena displaying this prize to the crowd, before presenting it to a lady of his choice. There is some doubt as to whether the bulls were killed in this fashion in Arles in van Gogh's time.
[Graetz, H. R., ''The Symbolic Language of Vincent van Gogh,'' McGraw-Hill 1963]
See also
*
Arles Amphitheatre
*
List of works by Vincent van Gogh
List of works by Vincent van Gogh is an incomplete list of paintings and other works by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The listing is ordered by year and then by catalogue number. While more accurate dating of Van Gogh's work is often difficu ...
Footnotes
External links
*
Hermitage Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arenes
Paintings of Arles by Vincent van Gogh
Paintings in the Hermitage Museum
1888 paintings
Oil on canvas paintings
Paintings of people