Vincent: June 17, 1889
Vincent is allowed to roam around in the vicinity of the hospital, and he’s doing many paintings. He’s only occasionally depressed, and very productive, doing fine impressionistic work but with sharper colours and accented lines, and with some
extraordinary perspectives.
Everything is shipped to Théo, but he makes copies of the best so he can keep track of his own progress.
Van Gogh here portrays Aries, the constellation of his birth, with the stars uncannily placed in their near-exact positions alongside the moon and Venus. Only the prominent cypress tree, so crucial to the composition, disturbs the astronomical fidelity, separating the two stars at the lower left further than they are in reality.
At right, “Road with Cypresses and Starry Sky” again sets the heavens afire with the shimmering energy of space. “The Noon Rest”, above, is an homage to Millet, while “The Prison Courtyard”, below, gives tribute to Doré, Van Gogh repaying debts of gratitude to the masters of an earlier generation who melded expression and impression, while at the same time aiding his own recovery by re-examining the fundamentals of his art.
