{"id":2430,"date":"2025-07-14T20:49:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T20:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2025arles\/?p=2430"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:50:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T14:50:29","slug":"why-fondation-vincent-van-gogh-isnt-what-tourists-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.ieimedia.com\/2025arles\/why-fondation-vincent-van-gogh-isnt-what-tourists-expect\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Fondation Vincent van Gogh isn\u2019t what tourists expect"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Text and photos by Ali Costellow<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve seen the boulevards of this town full of excited people. And really, that was quite beautiful,\u201d<\/strong><\/em>
\n                \u2013 Vincent van Gogh wrote about Arles in a March 1888 letter to his brother.<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Typically a slow, peaceful place, Arles transforms each summer as starry-eyed art lovers flock to town, bustling around to discover photo exhibits, admire ancient Roman architecture and witness the sites that inspired Van Gogh to create over 300 works of art during his 15-month residency.<\/p>\n

Shops line the street, selling tote bags, fans and postcards bearing his famed work. Though closed indefinitely, Le Caf\u00e9 Van Gogh, recreated to look like the vibrant yellow bistro the artist painted, remains a popular stop for tourists. Now a library and shops, the former hospital where the artist painted \u201cGarden of the Hospital in Arles\u201d appears much the way it looked in Van Gogh\u2019s famous painting, its courtyard brimming with flowers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most visited spot for Van Gogh enthusiasts is a renovated mansion with a gate that says \u201cVincent\u201d in cursive letters, mimicking the artist\u2019s distinctive signature: the Fondation Vincent van Gogh.<\/p>\n

People often visit the foundation expecting a building full of original Van Gogh artwork; however, that\u2019s not what they find<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Postcards
Rows of vibrant Vincent van Gogh postcards await purchase from tourists at L\u2019espace Van Gogh, the former hospital courtyard that the artist painted in \u201cGarden of the Hospital in Arles.\u201d Today, the site is full of tourists and merchandise.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Van Gogh\u2019s Arlesian history<\/h3>\n

Seeking a calmer and warmer place than Paris, Van Gogh stopped in Arles in February 1888 while on his way to Marseille. Inspired by the beauty of the town and its unique light, Van Gogh decided to stick around.<\/p>\n

Before he arrived in Arles, Van Gogh\u2019s work was more modern, utilizing darker color palettes. During his stay, it evolved into the vibrant expressionist and post-impressionist style for which he is known today.<\/p>\n

Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Mediator Sara Guti said the town\u2019s distinctive colors and the quality of its light made their way into Van Gogh\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a magnetical thing here that we can\u2019t explain,\u201d Guti said. \u201cWhen you come to Arles, you transform yourself. You have a before and after, as Van Gogh illustrated it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Gogh left Arles in 1889 and died just over a year later in Paris. While his artwork was displayed worldwide for almost a century, none of his pieces were shown in Arles.<\/p>\n

That changed in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

The mission<\/h3>\n

Fondation Vincent van Gogh, founded in 1983 as the Association for the Creation of the Fondation Vincent van Gogh, was created to exhibit the artist\u2019s work in the city that\u2019s still full of his spirit, as well as to showcase contemporary works.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit foundation typically only displays one to three loaned Van Gogh paintings at a time. The remainder of the temporary exhibits consists of contemporary art thematically paired with the Van Gogh work on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an homage, because we don\u2019t invite artists to create something linked to Van Gogh,\u201d Guti said. \u201cIt\u2019s more conceptual, it\u2019s more philosophical and with this idea of metaphor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two of Van Gogh\u2019s Dutch paintings are part of the current exhibition: \u201cPeasant and Peasant Woman Planting Potatoes\u201d and \u201cBasket of Potatoes.\u201d The contemporary works of Sigmar Polke, a German artist and photographer, are on display alongside Van Gogh\u2019s potato paintings through October.<\/p>\n

\"A
Sigmar Polke\u2019s \u201cPotato House,\u201d adorned with real potatoes, greets guests as they turn the corner from viewing Vincent van Gogh\u2019s displayed potato paintings at the Fondation Vincent van Gogh.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the last decade, the foundation has exhibited over 100 paintings and 50 drawings by Van Gogh, mostly through a loan partnership with Mus\u00e9e Van Gogh Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super important to bring back the paintings where they were created,\u201d said Margaux Bonopera, the foundation\u2019s head of exhibitions.<\/p>\n

However, Bonopera said the foundation, which receives all of its artwork on loan, does not plan to purchase any Van Goghs for several reasons.<\/p>\n

For one, it\u2019s simply not part of the foundation\u2019s mission, she said.<\/p>\n

A permanent display would require creation of a conservation team and purchase of expensive insurance. The nonprofit foundation receives money from the Hoffman family, descendants of the founder of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Hoffman-La Roche, but Bonopera said the cost of purchasing paintings is much higher than that of acquiring paintings on loan.<\/p>\n

Regardless, there aren\u2019t really any Van Goghs available to be a part of a new collection, she said. Furthermore, a French law, known as loi mus\u00e9es<\/em>, generally prevents museums from selling works in their collections.<\/p>\n

The confusion<\/h3>\n

Like many tourists, Los Angeles residents Mimie and Sheldon Bloom visited Arles in the first week of July. The reason for their visit?<\/p>\n

\u201cVan Gogh,\u201d Mimie Bloom said, laughing.<\/p>\n

They arrived at Fondation Vincent Van Gogh expecting a Van Gogh museum. Instead, they were shocked to learn at the ticket desk that the exhibit only included two of the artist\u2019s paintings.<\/p>\n

They admitted they could have done more research beforehand. However, they assumed that since \u201cVan Gogh\u201d was in the name of the institution, it would be centered around the artist\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is misleading, as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Mimie Bloom said.<\/p>\n

Guti said visitors are often surprised when they learn that Fondation Vincent van Gogh is not brimming with the artist\u2019s original work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have this confusion, which is normal,\u201d Guti said, noting that with Van Gogh in the name of the institution, visitors \u201cimagine that you only have Van Gogh paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n

This misconception, Guti said, can leave visitors disappointed. Some even decide to walk out without seeing the art at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always say that we are a contemporary art foundation with Van Gogh paintings,\u201d Guti said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a Van Gogh museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irene Guerrier, a Paris native, visits the foundation yearly when in town for Les Rencontres d\u2019Arles photo festival.<\/p>\n

Guerrier said putting another artist\u2019s work alongside Van Gogh\u2019s is a unique strategy. However, she said she does not like contemporary art, so she was not that interested in it.<\/p>\n

She said she liked last year\u2019s exhibit better since \u201cStarry Night Over the Rh\u00f4ne,\u201d a painting she was more familiar with, was on display.<\/p>\n

Not all are displeased, however.<\/p>\n

\"A
Ben Osborne, visiting Arles from Oxford, England, sees Vincent Van Gogh paintings for the first time at Fondation Vincent van Gogh. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a Van Gogh painting in the flesh,\u201d Osborne said. \u201cI\u2019m over the moon.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ben Osborne from Oxford England, said he thought it was amazing the foundation displayed some of Van Gogh\u2019s artwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really nice,\u201d Osborne said. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a Van Gogh painting in the flesh. I\u2019m over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonopera said she thinks the \u201cVan Gogh\u201d name creates expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are obsessed with Van Gogh,\u201d Bonopera said. \u201cSo when you speak about Van Gogh, people believe, and I understand, that Van Gogh belongs to them. People, when they love Van Gogh, it\u2019s like a friend for them. It\u2019s like someone who is super close. It\u2019s really essential for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonopera said the idea of Van Gogh excites people so much that visitors sometimes fixate on what they didn\u2019t get to see instead of discovering new art.<\/p>\n

She said visitors might better understand the mission if the institution\u2019s name was something along the lines of \u201cFondation Van Gogh pour l\u2019art contemporain,\u201d meaning \u201cVan Gogh Foundation for Contemporary Art.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, at the same time, we hope that Van Gogh can be an invitation to discover contemporary practice,\u201d Bonopera said.<\/p>\n

Van Gogh\u2019s wish<\/h3>\n

The Fondation Vincent van Gogh stated it \u201cfulfills Vincent\u2019s wish to create in Arles a place of reflection, fertile production and stimulating dialogue among artists,\u201d in a press release<\/a> about the current exhibition.<\/p>\n

Beyond the exhibits, the foundation also hosts events and programming, including symposiums around \u201cthe ideas important to Van Gogh,\u201d such as the notion of self-taught artists, the notion of pop, the notion of colors and more, Bonopera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to invite people to think about his practice and his life in Arles,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Bonopera said the people most interested in Van Gogh\u2019s work are other artists, which is why it’s important to have a space \u201cdedicated to their relation to him, or just to present artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot imagine if he (Van Gogh) would have loved this kind of foundation,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I think he would have been happy to see other people take care of artists in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claire Fanchini served as an interpreter for this story.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"People
Visitors mingle near the fountain in the L\u2019espace Van Gogh courtyard, the former hospital garden that the artist painted in \u201cGarden of the Hospital in Arles.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walking in Van Gogh’s footsteps<\/h1>\n

Several sites<\/span><\/a> that inspired Van Gogh\u2019s work or honor his legacy can still be found in Arles. Some even display a poster of art he created there so visitors can compare it with how the area looks today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Guests can stay in an Airbnb inspired by <\/span>Van Gogh\u2019s bedroom<\/span><\/a> in the famed yellow house, now demolished after suffering bomb damage in World War II.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where else to go:<\/strong><\/h3>\n