You might recognize this as Van Gogh’s “Café Terrace at Night”, which was the first painting into which he incorporated a starry background. Van Gogh painted it in 1888 while standing, I imagine, where I stood to take the photo. The building is now painted bright yellow to recreate Van Gogh’s effect. I’m sure back […]
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Espace Van Gogh, Arles, France
This looks like a nice place for a breakdown, though I question its efficacy since Van Gogh checked in not once, but twice. The first time was after his infamous ear/Gauguin incident, then again after he had a full-on meltdown. Van Gogh produced a painting of the hospital’s interior courtyard, named, aptly, “Garden of the […]
Théâtre Antique, Arles, France
Back in 40 B.C., this 12,000-seat theatre was one of the first phases of Arles’ urbanization. Then, it was one of the earliest free-standing theaters using newfangled radiating vaulted chambers and concentric galleries. The high rear wall was adorned with statues and columns, and the exterior wall had three levels of arcades. Now, only the […]
Les Arènes, Arles, France
Arles has no shortage of Roman ruins, and the main attraction is the elliptical amphitheatre. Standing inside, taking it all in, I thought it was enormous, but it turns out it was only the 20th largest in the Roman world. Here, beginning in 70 A.D., gladiators, criminals and slaves encountered their end before 20,000 spectators. […]
Arles, France
We visited Arles during an overcast, rainy stretch, which was too bad since our favorite activity is just walking the streets. In wet weather, there’s more scurrying from Point A to Point B, and much of the city’s flavor gets lost. The two things that stuck out to me were Van Gogh and Roman ruins. […]
