Vincent’s final three years present us with a paradox, which cannot be reconciled. As his mental health is declining, paradoxically, his paintings are showing the evidence of a creative genius.

Below is a companion gallery for Episode 23 of Creative Codex. It is a gallery of selected works from the years 1888 – 1889. These were all completed when Vincent was in France, and in the Yellow House, where Paul Gauguin joins him in October 1888.

Vincent’s most debilitating psychotic attack happens on the evening of December 23rd, 1888. This results in the most infamous event in art history: Vincent van Gogh cutting off his ear. The details and context surrounding this catalyst event are fully explored in Episode 23: Vincent van Gogh • Madness, Genius, & Tragedy (Part Two.)

The Yellow House became a symbol synonymous with Vincent van Gogh’s dream goal: to bring together an artist commune in Arles, France. The goal would be to have a community of Impressionist artists that would create masterpieces together in an ideal creative environment, where they did not have to worry about starving.

Living in The Yellow House came with a guarantee: Theo van Gogh would represent your artworks on the art market. In addition, if one artist succeeded, that notoriety would be shared with the other artists in the house through association.

One of Vincent’s most stunning portraits was actually painted for Paul Gauguin, as a symbolic gesture of their blossoming friendship. Vincent painted the words ‘Dedicated to Paul Gauguin’ on the upper left corner of the painting, but oddly enough, Paul Gauguin scrubbed that dedication off, and sold the painting within a year of receiving it.

This is one of my favorite portraits of Vincent. Click on the portrait above to give it a closer look.

Paul Gauguin arrived at The Yellow House on October 23rd, 1888. Over the course of the next nine weeks, Vincent and Gauguin would grow as friends and collaborators. But their amicable relationship would prove difficult to maintain, as the two artists had extremely opposing temperaments. By December 1888, they could be heard arguing late into the night.

One of their most successful collaborations was when they both painted a portrait of Augustine Roulin, the wife of Vincent’s friend, the Postman, Joseph Roulin.