Sunday was my second visit to the charming town of AUVERS SUR OISE, 20 miles outside Paris
Van Gogh spent the last 70 days of his life here and made 80 paintings.
Auberge Ravoux was his home. He probably sat out front sipping an absinthe or two at one time or another.
On Sunday it seemed like every visitor to Avers sur Oise wanted to sit in Van Gogh's possible chair
On Sunday I put down my pencil and picked up my brush to paint directly 'en pleine aire' as they call it.
Time has stopped in this quiet 19th century town.
Every doorway has secrets. Who has passed in and out.
Cezanne, Pissarro, Daubigny painted here.
It would be lovely if there were a few Van Gogh original paintings on view.
Instead large posters sit side by side to the places he immortalized.
This time I made it to the magical musee de l'Absinthe.
I bought this gutsy Absinthe glass and a postcard of "Vincent's Bedroom".
You can learn a lot copying a van Gogh. The perfect balance of complimentary colors. The tipped-up floor influenced by Japanese woodblock prints. Its a chance to walk in someone else's shoes.
Naturally there are wild irises by the side of the road in Van Gogh's last home. If you have a day to spare Auvers sur Oise provides a quiet respite from the glamour of Paris
A Big Merci to Marge!
She suggested I send out whatever Paris souvenirs I have on hand and I have bags of them. Not to worry if they are unrelated to the art. For some unknown reason, 5-star hotels do not hand out their cards readily. In future all envelopes will have Paris goodies.
The Auvers Musee de l'Absinthe is coming up next.
Bon week PBers!
Auvers sur Oise looks like a charming town, and I love your watercolors of it.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a charming town.
DeleteThanks Taste ��
Louveciennes has reproduction posters all over the place, too. It's rather a nice way to see how a place may have changed or not, although I agree the originals would be nicer!
ReplyDeleteIn a way its better to see the painted images beside the subject matter. Many of the curvy lines are there in nature. Not just in Van Gogh's head. And there's no preciousness or snobbery involved. Standing in front of the train poster of the Auvers church for the 1st time I saw clearly how he balanced his complimentary colors blue and orange. You can count the few patches of orange vs. all that deep blue. I missed that at d'Orsay 🎨
DeleteIt looks like our kind of place..Love your watercolors.. We stay so close to VG's St-Paul-De-Mausole asylum..Have you been to St-Rémi? I FORGET:) Been traveling w/ you for so long;)
ReplyDeleteI have Never been to St Remy darn it
DeleteI'd love to go...maybe in June when I go to Cote Sud Salon in Aix...❤️
LOVE Aix..so much!
DeleteEnjoyed... didn’t realize only 20 minutes from Paris!
ReplyDeleteLots of terrific places are very close by Cyndy. Vaux le Vicomte, Fontainbleau, Chantilly, Giverny,
DeleteSuch an absolutely delicious post. Thank you so much for sharing your travels, and your eye for the details. ~Clarity Artists (Robert & SuSane).
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU Clarity!
DeleteLove those water colors & after seeing Imagine Van Gogh on our last trip, I have more appreciation for & am much more interested in him. I've had Auvers-sur-Oise on my day trip list but it's now moved up closer to the top. The town looks so charming.
ReplyDeleteI know Susan, living in France changed my feelings about Van Gogh. Too much commercialization unfortunately and enormous show, so you loose sight of the man and how humble he was. Look at his sketches. He drew things over and over before painting them, nothing was done so spontaneously. Much thought and trial and error went into them. He was not a mad painter. Just sayin'
DeleteAnother lovely and insightful post. This is definitely a side trip I would love ...
ReplyDeleteYou would indeed Geri
DeleteThe perfect, serene step back in time.
And they have a very good boulangerie too!
You are absolutely amazing I look forward to everything you post make me dream what could be I will make it back to France one day and I have all of your posts to keep me going for months
ReplyDeleteVery sweet of you to say so Patricia
DeleteI'm delighted to be of assistance ;))
What a lovely place to visit! I like your purchase of the absinthe glass and postcard, your plain air paintings are fabulous.
ReplyDelete