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The Yellow House
The Yellow House
The Yellow House
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The Yellow House
Dutch: Het gele huis
Map
ArtistVincent van Gogh
Year1888
Catalogue
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions76 cm × 94 cm (28.3 in × 36 in)
LocationVan Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Yellow House (Dutch: Het gele huis), alternatively named The Street (Dutch: De straat),[1][2] is an 1888 oil painting by the 19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.

The house was the right wing of 2 Place Lamartine, Arles, France, where, on May 1, 1888, Van Gogh rented four rooms. He occupied two large ones on the ground floor to serve as an atelier (workshop) and kitchen, and on the first floor, two smaller ones facing Place Lamartine. The window on the first floor nearest the corner with both shutters open is that of Van Gogh's guest room, where Paul Gauguin lived for nine weeks from late October 1888. Behind the next window, with shutters nearly closed, is Van Gogh's bedroom. The two small rooms at the rear were rented by Van Gogh at a later time.

Van Gogh indicated that the restaurant where he used to have his meals was in the building painted pink, close to the left edge of the painting (28 Place Lamartine). It was run by Widow Venissac, who was also Van Gogh's landlady, and who owned several of the other buildings depicted. To the right of the Yellow House, the Avenue Montmajour runs down to the two railway bridges.[3] The first line (with a train just passing) served the local connection to Lunel, which is on the opposite (that is, right) bank of river Rhône. The other line was owned by the P.-L.-M. Railway Company (Paris Lyon Méditerranée).[4] In the left foreground is an indication of the corner of the pedestrian walk which surrounded one of the public gardens on Place Lamartine. The ditch running up Avenue Montmajour from the left towards the bridges served the gas pipe, which allowed van Gogh a little later to have gaslight installed in his atelier.[5]

The building was severely damaged in a bombing raid by the Allies on June 25, 1944,[6] and was later demolished.

Genesis

[edit]
Vincent van Gogh – Letter VGM 491 – The Yellow House F1453 JH 1590

The painting was executed in September 1888, at which time Van Gogh sent a sketch of the composition to his brother Theo:[7][8]

Also a sketch of a 30 square canvas representing the house and its setting under a sulphur sun under a pure cobalt sky. The theme is a hard one! But that is exactly why I want to conquer it. Because it is fantastic, these yellow houses in the sun and also the incomparable freshness of the blue. All the ground is yellow too. I will soon send you a better drawing of it than this sketch out of my head.

The house on the left is yellow with green shutters. It's the one that is shaded by a tree. This is the restaurant where I go to dine every day. My friend the factor is at the end of the street on the left, between the two bridges of the railroad. The night café that I painted is not in the picture, it is on the left of the restaurant.

Milliet finds this horrible, but I don't need to tell you that when he says he doesn't understand that one can have fun doing a common grocer's shop and the stiff and proper houses without any grace, but I remember that Zola did a certain boulevard in the beginning of L'assommoir, and Flaubert a corner of the embankment of the Villette in the dog days in the beginning of Bouvard and Pécuchet which are not to be sneezed at.

Watercolour by Van Gogh, executed after the painting

Initially, Van Gogh titled the painting as The House and its environment (French: La Maison et son entourage). Later he opted for a more meaningful title and called it The Street (French: La Rue),[9] paying homage to a suite of sketches showing streets in Paris, by Jean-François Raffaëlli, and recently published in Le Figaro.[10]

Paul Signac: The House of Van Gogh, 1932. Watercolour, private collection.

Pedigree

[edit]

This painting never left the artist's estate. Since 1962, it has been in the possession of the Vincent van Gogh Foundation, established by Vincent Willem van Gogh, the artist's nephew, and on permanent loan to the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Since the 1940s

[edit]

The Yellow House itself no longer exists. It was severely damaged in bombing-raids during the Second World War, and later demolished. The place without the house looks almost the same. A placard on the scene commemorates its former existence.[11]

See also

[edit]

Resources

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The Yellow House ('The Street'), Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 21 February 2015.
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Het gele huis ('De straat'), Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved on 21 February 2015.
  3. ^ Avenue Montmajour is now Avenue de Stalingrad.
  4. ^ The Railway Bridge, another painting by van Gogh, supplies a view from this bridge back to place Lamartine, the square in which the house was located.
  5. ^ Letters B22 and 556
  6. ^ A photographic document of the damaged house survived (Van Gogh Museum, Archief M. E. Tralbaut), stamped "Photo E. Barral" and annotated by the author "La Maison de Van Gogh après le Bombardement du 25 Juin 1944"; it is reproduced in Wilkie, In Search of Van Gogh, page 92
  7. ^ Letter 543
  8. ^ "691 To Theo van Gogh. Arles, on or about Saturday, 29 September 1888". Vincent van Gogh: The Letters. Van Gogh Museum. 1v:2.
  9. ^ Letter 543, Letter B18
  10. ^ La Rue, par Jean-François Raffaëlli, Le Figaro, supplément litteraire, Paris, March 3, 1888
  11. ^ The Yellow House is gone

References

[edit]
  • Dorn, Roland: Décoration: Vincent van Gogh's Werkreihe für das Gelbe Haus in Arles, Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim, Zürich & New York 1990 ISBN 3-487-09098-8 / ISSN 0175-9558
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

The Yellow House

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The Yellow House was a modest yellow residence at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles, , where the Dutch post-Impressionist painter rented four rooms on May 1, 1888, to serve as both his living quarters and a communal studio for artists. He envisioned the space as an "asylum" or retreat for like-minded painters, decorating it vibrantly and producing numerous works inspired by the Provençal landscape and town, including the iconic painting The Yellow House (1888) depicting the building itself. In October 1888, Van Gogh's friend and fellow artist arrived to join him, leading to a brief but intense period of collaboration during which they created dozens of paintings together over 63 days. However, mounting tensions between the two culminated in a violent altercation on December 23, 1888, when Van Gogh, in a fit of , mutilated his left ear, prompting Gauguin to depart permanently the next day and marking a tragic turning point in Van Gogh's life. Van Gogh resided in the house until May 1889, when he voluntarily committed himself to an following further episodes of instability, after which the property changed hands multiple times. Tragically, the Yellow House was destroyed on June 25, 1944, during an Allied bombing raid targeting nearby River bridges in , leaving only a at the site today.

Description

Physical Characteristics

The Yellow House is an created by in 1888, measuring 72 cm × 91.5 cm (28.3 in × 36 in). This medium and scale were standard for Van Gogh's works during his Arles period, where he frequently used size 30 canvases to capture expansive outdoor scenes with immersive detail. The painting bears alternative titles including The Street (Dutch: De straat) and The Yellow House (Dutch: Het gele huis), reflecting its focus on the artist's residence. It is currently located at the in , on long-term loan from the Vincent van Gogh Foundation. Visually, the work showcases Van Gogh's bold, directional brushwork and technique, with thick applications of paint building a textured surface that emphasizes the vibrancy and movement of the composition. These physical qualities, evident in the swirling strokes and raised areas of color, align with his Arles-period innovations, where such methods heightened the emotional intensity of everyday subjects. In correspondence with his brother , Van Gogh highlighted the "tremendous" yellow tones and "incomparable freshness" of the blues, achieved through this vigorous layering under the intense Provençal sunlight.

Subject and Composition

The Yellow House, painted by in September 1888, depicts the exterior of the right wing of the house at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles, , where the artist had rented four rooms since May of that year. The central subject is the corner building's sunny yellow facade accented by vivid green shutters and a green door, set against a clear blue sky that highlights the complementary contrast of colors. The surrounding street scene includes a to the left, a gas street lamp nearby, and two bridges visible in the distance, with piles of accumulated in the foreground along the square. Recent suggests these piles of sand were spread over horse manure to reduce street odors, a typical urban hygiene measure in Arles at the time. Subtle figures appear in the street, adding a sense of everyday activity to the immediate environment captured in this Post-Impressionist work. The composition employs a horizontal format on canvas, measuring 72 cm by 91.5 cm, to emphasize the perspective of the Place Lamartine square receding into depth. The Yellow House occupies the center as the focal point, with the street's diagonal lines drawing the viewer's eye toward it, while adjacent buildings and urban details frame the scene on either side. This arrangement underscores the integration of the house within its urban context, presenting a straightforward view of the artist's surroundings without interior views. Van Gogh initially titled the work The House and its Environment (La Maison et son entourage), reflecting its emphasis on the building amid its setting, though he later referred to it simply as The Street (La Rue). The rented house implied in the depiction consisted of four rooms: two larger spaces on the ground floor serving as an (workshop) and kitchen, and two smaller rooms upstairs designated as a and guest room, though none of these interiors are visible in the painting.

Historical Context

Van Gogh's Arrival in Arles

In February 1888, left for Arles in , driven by a quest for the region's intense sunlight, vivid colors, and lower cost of living, which he believed would revitalize his art after years of urban constraints. After enduring the harsh Parisian winters and the city's artistic rivalries, Van Gogh sought a warmer climate reminiscent of Japanese prints he admired, viewing as a southern equivalent to Japan's luminous landscapes. His time in from 1886 to 1888, including a brief stay in nearby Asnières during the summer of 1887, had exposed him to impressionist techniques and heightened his fascination with light's transformative effects on color. Van Gogh arrived in Arles on February 20, 1888, stepping into a blanketed by one of the coldest winters in decades, yet immediately captivated by the promise of emerging spring. He initially rented a modest room at the Hôtel-Restaurant Carrel in the town center, using it as a base to explore the surrounding countryside on foot. After a brief stay there, he moved to the Café de la Gare, where he resided until September 1888, when he fully occupied the Yellow House he had leased earlier that May. Within days, he began capturing the area's natural beauty in paint, focusing on blooming and orchards that symbolized renewal and the River's reflective waters under the shifting skies. These early works marked a shift toward bolder, more expressive brushwork, as he immersed himself in the daily rhythms of rural life. Throughout this period, Van Gogh relied heavily on financial support from his brother , an in , who sent monthly allowances in exchange for Vincent's paintings, enabling him to sustain his solitary existence amid persistent economic hardship. Although his had shown strains earlier, including episodes of melancholy and irritability during his Paris years, subtle signs of deeper instability began to surface in Arles, exacerbated by isolation and the pressure to produce prolifically. This arrival heralded Van Gogh's most fertile creative phase, yielding over 200 paintings in the ensuing 15 months and laying the foundation for his visionary idea of transforming a local residence into a communal studio for fellow artists.

The House as an Artist's Studio

In May 1888, leased the right wing of a house at 2 Place Lamartine in , for 15 francs per month, envisioning it as a communal space for artists. The building, painted yellow on the exterior with green shutters, featured whitewashed interior walls and red brick floors, creating a bright, sunlit environment that Van Gogh described as ideal for living, breathing, and painting. He furnished the space simply with basic items such as a , table, chairs, and a few pots, while adorning the walls with his own paintings to evoke a sense of warmth and artistic camaraderie. The house's layout supported both practical daily needs and creative work, with two large ground-floor rooms serving as a studio and kitchen, and two smaller upstairs rooms functioning as bedrooms—one for Van Gogh and one prepared as a guest quarters. In the kitchen, Van Gogh prepared modest meals, often simple dishes like vegetable soups or stews, reflecting his frugal lifestyle and occasional interactions with local vendors. Upstairs, he wrote frequent letters to his brother , discussing his progress and aspirations, while the studio became a hub for and storing canvases. His with postman Joseph Roulin, who delivered mail and visited regularly, added a social dimension to these routines; Van Gogh later portrayed Roulin and his family in several works inspired by their conversations. The Yellow House symbolized Van Gogh's dream of establishing a "Studio of the South," a collaborative haven for like-minded artists to live and work together, free from the commercial pressures of Paris. This vision materialized briefly when arrived on October 23, 1888, staying until December 23, during which time the two shared meals, debated artistic theories, and painted side by side, though mounting tensions over creative differences culminated in Van Gogh's breakdown on December 23. Despite the collaboration's short duration and strain, the house fostered significant output, including the Sunflowers series—painted in August 1888 to decorate Gauguin's room—and , completed in October to capture the domestic serenity of his own space. These works, alongside others like , emerged directly from the house's role as a creative refuge, embodying Van Gogh's pursuit of southern light and communal inspiration.

Creation

Painting Process

Van Gogh painted The Yellow House in September 1888, several months after renting the house at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles in May of that year. This work emerged during his highly productive period in Arles, where he created over 180 paintings between February 1888 and May 1889, often completing canvases in a matter of days amid intense bursts of activity. No known preparatory oil sketches or detailed drawings exist for the painting, though Van Gogh's direct observations of the site shaped its composition. He included a simple ink sketch of the scene in a letter to his brother dated around 29 1888, noting it as a "really difficult subject" he sought to capture. The work formed part of a broader decorative series for the Yellow House, intended to adorn its walls alongside earlier Arles paintings like the Sunflowers series from August 1888. Van Gogh applied thick brushstrokes characteristic of his Arles-period style, layering directly from the tube to build texture and intensity on the . He likely painted or from a nearby vantage point, such as a , to seize the immediate effects of sunlight and atmosphere. The painting utilized paints on a square no. 30 , with a focus on synthetic pigments including for the sunlit facade and for the sky to achieve vivid contrasts. Van Gogh described the color as "tremendous, these yellow houses in the sunlight and then the incomparable freshness of the blue." The composition integrates the house as part of a scene in harmony with its surroundings, aligning with his self-described goal of creating decorative panels for the artist studio.

Correspondence with Theo

Vincent van Gogh frequently corresponded with his brother , who served as his primary financial supporter and confidant, sharing updates on his artistic endeavors in Arles. In these letters, Van Gogh expressed his vision for the Yellow House as a communal studio for artists, revealing his about fostering a collaborative environment despite financial and personal challenges. A pivotal exchange occurred in letter 543 (also numbered 691 in the Van Gogh Letters edition), dated 28 or 29 September 1888, where Van Gogh described a preliminary sketch of The Yellow House sent to . In this letter, he detailed the painting's conception on a square no. 30 , portraying the house under a "sulphur sun" against a "pure sky," with yellow walls contrasting the "incomparable freshness of the " to evoke and joy. Van Gogh emphasized the 's integration as a "street" in harmony with its surroundings, noting the adjacent pink with green shutters and a nearby tree providing shade, while linking it to his broader decorative scheme that included . He wrote, "That’s a really difficult subject! But I want to conquer it for that very reason," highlighting his determination to capture stability and vibrancy through color contrasts of and . In the same letter, Van Gogh elaborated on the painting's completion and titled it The Street, underscoring its role in his envisioned "decoration" for the Yellow House to create a welcoming space for fellow artists like . He conveyed enthusiasm for the studio dream, stating that the house would serve as both home and workspace, supported by Theo's funds, and that the artwork would contribute to an atmosphere of "lively figures of friends." These correspondences illustrate Van Gogh's intent to use the painting to symbolize domestic stability and artistic community amid his isolation in Arles. The original letters, including sketches, are preserved in the Van Gogh Museum's collection in , with English translations and annotations available through the Vincent van Gogh: The Letters project, a collaboration between the museum and the Huygens ING Institute.

Artistic Analysis

Use of Color and Light

In The Yellow House (1888), Vincent van Gogh employed a vibrant color palette dominated by intense yellows on the house facade, which contrast sharply with the sky and verdant green shutters, creating a dynamic interplay of that amplifies visual vibrancy and emotional resonance. These yellows, often unmixed and applied in bold strokes, draw from synthetic pigments, which provided an unnatural saturation and luminosity characteristic of Van Gogh's Arles period works. The complementary pairing of yellow and blue, as Van Gogh described in his correspondence, heightens their mutual intensity, evoking a sense of poetic harmony rather than mere optical accuracy. Van Gogh's depiction of light in the painting captures the intense southern sunlight through these bright, unmixed hues, rendering the scene with a radiant, almost glowing quality that permeates the composition. He largely avoided traditional shadows, flattening the pictorial space to prioritize the emotional intensity of color over realistic depth or atmospheric modeling, a technique that underscores the painting's flat, decorative surface reminiscent of Japanese prints. This approach allows the light to suffuse the entire canvas uniformly, emphasizing the sun's pervasive warmth without the interruptions of cast shadows. Technically, Van Gogh drew divisionist influences from but applied them more loosely, juxtaposing dabs of to optically mix on the viewer's eye and enhance expressive effects, rather than adhering to strict scientific precision. This looser approach, combined with his impulsive application of paint straight from the tube, results in textured, vibrant layers that convey light's immediacy. In contrast to Impressionists like , who focused on optical realism and transient light effects through subtle tonal variations, Van Gogh prioritized symbolic and emotional color over naturalistic representation, using heightened saturation to evoke inner states. The overall visual effect of this color and light treatment instills a profound of warmth and invitation, mirroring the luminosity of Arles and transforming the modest street scene into an emblem of hopeful vitality. The radiant yellows and blues not only illuminate the facade but also suggest an enveloping, optimistic glow, drawing the viewer into the painting's emotional core.

Symbolism and Themes

The Yellow House (1888) stands as a profound of refuge and artistic in Vincent van Gogh's oeuvre, embodying his aspiration to create a communal haven for fellow painters in Arles. Van Gogh envisioned the modest corner building at Place Lamartine as a "studio of the South," where artists could collaborate and inspire one another, transforming isolation into shared creativity. This dream, however, ultimately unraveled, representing the artist's failed quest for belonging amid personal turmoil. In letters to his brother , Van Gogh expressed this hope vividly, describing the house as a space painted in vibrant yellow to evoke warmth and possibility, though it soon became a site of solitude after conflicts with intended collaborators. Symbolic elements within the painting reinforce these themes of tempered by transience. The dominant yellow hue of the signifies , , and emotional renewal, a color Van Gogh associated with the "tremendous" vibrancy of life under the sun. Contrasting with this is the expansive blue sky, evoking serenity and an "incomparable freshness," which underscores a momentary in Van Gogh's restless existence. The cobblestone street stretches forward as a pathway suggesting potential connections to the outside world, while the distant figures—small and fleeting—hint at the ephemerality of human bonds and the artist's underlying isolation. On a personal level, the painting reflects Van Gogh's profound sense of loneliness intertwined with his yearning for artistic partnership, particularly his anticipation of Paul Gauguin's arrival. Painted in September 1888, it captures the period just before Gauguin's brief stay, during which their collaboration briefly flourished but ended in discord, exacerbating Van Gogh's mental distress and leading to his institutionalization. This personal context infuses the work with themes of aspiration and fragility, mirroring Van Gogh's broader search for emotional stability through art. Within the Post-Impressionist framework, The Yellow House prioritizes subjective emotion over realistic depiction, using distorted perspectives and intense colors to convey inner psychological states rather than mere observation. This approach parallels Van Gogh's later works like (1889), where swirling skies and vivid palettes similarly portray emotional landscapes as extensions of the self. Art historians note how such innovations emphasized personal expression, influencing subsequent movements. Early critical reception during Van Gogh's lifetime often dismissed his bold, emotive style as naive or eccentric, with little attention to symbolic depth in works like The Yellow House. In contrast, modern interpretations celebrate it as a poignant of unfulfilled aspiration, highlighting its emotional resonance and foresight in expressive .

Provenance

Early Ownership

Following Vincent van Gogh's completion of The Yellow House (The Street) in September 1888, the painting was sent to his brother van Gogh in , where it remained in Theo's collection until Vincent's death on 29 July 1890. Theo, who had supported Vincent financially and collected many of his works, inherited the piece as part of the artist's estate. However, Theo's own death on 25 January 1891, just six months later, led to the painting passing to his widow, (née Johanna Gesina Boeven, 1862–1925), who became the primary steward of Vincent's oeuvre. Johanna van Gogh-Bonger played a pivotal role in managing the family estate, administering the painting from locations including Bussum, , and Laren between 1891 and 1925. She organized and lent works from the collection to key exhibitions, including a 1896 exhibition, the 1910 III. Ausstellung. 1853-1890 in , and the 1925 50 Jahre holländische Malerei 1875-1925, ensuring the painting's visibility during the early promotion of 's legacy. It was catalogued as F464 in Jacob Baart de la Faille's The Works of (1928) and as JH1589 in Jan Hulsker's The Complete (1970), solidifying its place in the artist's . Unlike many Van Gogh works dispersed through private sales and auctions following Theo's death—such as those handled by to support the family and promote recognition—this painting remained within the collection, avoiding early commercialization. After 's death in 1925, it was inherited by her son, Vincent Willem van Gogh (1890–1978), who maintained it in Laren until 1962. During the pre-World War II period, it was housed in secure storage, shielded from the era's turbulent dynamics affecting other pieces in the estate. In 1962, the Vincent van Gogh Foundation acquired it from Vincent Willem, marking the transition from private family stewardship to institutional custody while honoring its roots in the post-mortem handling by .

Modern Custody

In 1962, Vincent Willem van Gogh, the nephew of the artist, transferred ownership of the entire Van Gogh collection—including The Yellow House—to the newly established Foundation through an agreement with the , under which the Dutch state purchased the works to ensure their preservation and public access. The foundation, founded in 1960 to safeguard the artist's legacy, became the legal owner of the painting, which has remained part of its holdings ever since. Since the opening of the in in 1973, The Yellow House has been on permanent loan from the foundation and serves as a cornerstone of the museum's permanent collection. The museum, operated under a 1962 state agreement that mandates public exhibition and maintenance, provides institutional custody with rigorous protocols for display and protection. This arrangement underscores the painting's status as a national treasure, with the Dutch state retaining oversight through funding and legal commitments to the foundation. Conservation efforts at the focus on mitigating the inherent fragility of Van Gogh's oil paintings, particularly those featuring vibrant yellow prone to discoloration from aging and environmental exposure. Like many of the artist's works, it benefits from ongoing monitoring and controlled display conditions to address degradation. Further treatments have involved advanced analyses of issues common to Van Gogh's palette, including studies of stability using techniques like . The painting is displayed under low-UV, controlled lighting to prevent further fading. Due to its delicate condition—exacerbated by the artist's technique and unstable pigments—the painting is rarely loaned for exhibitions, prioritizing on-site preservation over travel risks. It was securely stored during the Van Gogh Museum's major expansion and closure from September 1998 to June 1999, ensuring protection amid construction. No incidents of damage from theft attempts have been reported for The Yellow House, in contrast to other Van Gogh works stolen from the museum, such as Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church and View of the Sea at Scheveningen in 2002. In recent years, the painting has been digitized at high resolution as part of the 's collaboration with , enabling virtual exhibitions that allow global access without physical handling. This initiative, encompassing over 1,500 of the artist's works, supports ongoing research and public engagement while minimizing wear on the original canvas. As of November 2025, it is on view in the exhibition Van Gogh and the Roulins. Together Again at Last at the , running from October 3, 2025, to January 11, 2026.

Legacy

Destruction of the Original House

The original Yellow House at 2 Place Lamartine in Arles was severely damaged during an Allied bombing raid on , 1944, as part of a campaign targeting bridges over the River to disrupt German supply lines. A directly struck the , reducing it to and leveling the surrounding area, in an incident that also affected other historical sites in the town. Local reports from the period highlighted the unintended devastation to cultural landmarks, including Van Gogh's former residence, amid the broader Allied efforts to liberate . Following the war, the damaged building was not repaired and was subsequently demolished, with the site cleared to make way for modern residential development, including apartment blocks. No reconstruction occurred, as postwar urban planning prioritized redevelopment over historical preservation in the area. To commemorate the site's significance, a plaque was installed at 2 Place Lamartine, marking the location of Van Gogh's studio and home. Arles continues to honor Van Gogh's legacy through annual events organized by the Fondation Vincent van Gogh, including guided tours and exhibitions that reference the Yellow House amid broader commemorations of his time in the region. The last known visual record of the intact house is a 1933 watercolor by artist , titled The House of Van Gogh (Arles, Place Lamartine), which captures the facade shortly before its wartime fate. This destruction erased the physical space where Van Gogh envisioned an artists' community, leaving his 1888 painting The Yellow House as the primary enduring depiction of his personal environment in Arles.

Cultural Impact and Exhibitions

The Yellow House has permeated as a symbol of Vincent van Gogh's optimistic vision for an artists' community in Arles, representing his aspirations for creative collaboration and personal renewal during a productive period. The painting features prominently in the 1956 Lust for Life, directed by [Vincente Minnelli](/page/Vincente_M Minnelli), where scenes depict Van Gogh settling into the house and his interactions with , underscoring the tensions and dreams associated with the space. Similarly, Irving Stone's 1934 novel Lust for Life, on which the film is based, draws from Van Gogh's letters to evoke the house as a beacon of hope amid his struggles. Reproductions of the work appear on merchandise such as posters, prints, and apparel, reinforcing its iconic status in art-inspired consumer products. In scholarly discourse, The Yellow House is analyzed as a key piece in Van Gogh's "decoration" series intended to adorn the interior of his Arles home, emphasizing his innovative use of color to evoke harmony and invitation. Jan Hulsker's 1980 , The Complete Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings, Sketches, catalogs the work (no. 1589) within the context of Van Gogh's Arles output, highlighting its role in his evolving post-impressionist style and thematic focus on domestic tranquility. Contemporary studies extend this to modern , examining how the painting's vibrant yellows and blues prefigure expressive techniques in . The painting resides permanently in the in , where it forms a cornerstone of the collection dedicated to Van Gogh's oeuvre. It was featured in the museum's 1990 retrospective exhibition, which drew 1.2 million visitors and showcased nearly 140 works from his career. In 2025, a life-size brick installation recreating the Yellow House—built with 182,109 bricks across five rooms exploring Van Gogh's life and sunflower series— was displayed at the Van Gogh Museum from June 19 to September 28, celebrating his legacy through interactive design. The work also appeared in the museum's Van Gogh and the Roulins exhibition, running from October 3, 2025, to January 11, 2026, which reunites portraits from his Arles period and contextualizes the house as his creative studio. Additionally, it was loaned to the in for the 2024–2025 exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers (September 14, 2024–January 19, 2025), alongside related Arles pieces like Sunflowers, attracting 334,589 visitors and marking the gallery's most popular ticketed show. Recent developments from 2020 to 2025 have amplified public access through digital innovations, particularly during the when the launched 4K virtual tours allowing remote exploration of the painting and its gallery context. Immersive experiences, such as the Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience with optional VR segments featuring The Yellow House among inspirations, have grown in popularity, blending and to engage broader audiences. The painting's cultural ties extend to Arles, designated a in 1981 for its Roman and Romanesque monuments, where Van Gogh's residence has inspired heritage tours linking his art to the city's enduring artistic legacy.

References

  1. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0032v1962
  2. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-inside-vincent-van-gogh-paul-gauguins-nine-turbulent-weeks-roommates
  3. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincent-van-gogh-faq/does-the-yellow-house-still-exist
  4. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0032V1962
  5. https://smarthistory.org/van-gogh-the-starry-night/
  6. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436535
  7. https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let691/letter.html
  8. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/17/a-manure-mystery-why-did-van-gogh-depict-heaps-of-sand-in-a-painting-of-his-beloved-yellow-house
  9. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890/south-of-france
  10. https://www.nga.gov/artworks/52178-farmhouse-provence
  11. https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/autumn18/mix-reviews-van-gogh-and-japan
  12. https://vangoghroute.com/france/arles/
  13. https://www.arles-guide.com/van-gogh-arles
  14. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0030v1962
  15. https://www.mfa.org/article/2025/van-gogh-at-the-intersection-of-creativity-and-mental-illness
  16. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.159.4.519
  17. https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let602/letter.html
  18. https://www.fondation-vincentvangogh-arles.org/en/vincent/
  19. https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let712/letter.html
  20. https://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let728/letter.html
  21. https://vggallery.com/painting/by_period/arles.htm
  22. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/van-gogh-vincent/
  23. https://www.gerrymartinez.com/the-street-the-yellow-house-painting-by-vincent-van-gogh/
  24. https://vangoghology.com/vincent-van-goghs-palette/
  25. https://www.webexhibits.org/vangogh/letter/18/543.htm
  26. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection
  27. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/stories/original-colours-of-van-goghs-paintings-research-project-revigo
  28. https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0094111
  29. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/stories/inspiration-from-japan
  30. https://twocoatsofpaint.com/2023/06/van-gogh-and-divisionism.html
  31. https://psyartjournal.com/article/show/bekker-color_and_emotion_a_psychophysical_analy
  32. http://www.vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let691/letter.html
  33. https://beyondvangogh.com/van-goghs-yellow-house/
  34. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/post-impressionism/
  35. https://vangoghworldwide.org/artwork/F464
  36. https://www.arthistorynews.com/articles/8873_Jo_van_GoghBonger_at_the_Van_Gogh_Museum
  37. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/about/support-the-museum/giving-and-estate-bequest-legacy-or-designated-fund
  38. https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_van012199501_01/_van012199501_01_0002.php
  39. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/arts/design/van-gogh-museum-renovation.html
  40. https://www.dutchnews.nl/2025/08/van-gogh-museum-warns-of-closure-risk-in-dispute-with-ministry/
  41. https://www.esrf.fr/home/UsersAndScience/Publications/Highlights/highlights-2015/x-ray-nanoprobe/xnp08.html
  42. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/embarrassing-art-heist-1606585
  43. https://www.openculture.com/2023/06/1500-paintings-drawings-by-vincent-van-gogh-have-been-digitized-put-online.html
  44. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2019/05/31/an-insiders-travel-guide-to-van-goghs-arles
  45. https://www.tracesofevil.com/1989/04/roman-provence.html
  46. https://thefogwatch.com/arles-van-goghs-yellow-house/
  47. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2020/05/01/home-sweet-home-renting-the-yellow-house-the-high-point-of-van-goghs-life
  48. https://www.vangoghroute.com/france/arles/the-yellow-house/
  49. https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-signac/the-house-of-van-gogh-arles-place-lamartine-1933
  50. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/291/lust-for-life
  51. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Complete_Van_Gogh.html?id=LHISAQAAMAAJ
  52. https://blog.tangent.com/scholarship/4woTQl/8OK146/the__yellow_house__analysis.pdf
  53. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/31/arts/1.2-million-people-see-van-gogh-exhibition.html
  54. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/whats-on/lego-yellow-house
  55. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/whats-on/exhibitions/van-gogh-and-the-roulins
  56. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/past/van-gogh-poets-and-lovers
  57. https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/enjoy-the-museum-from-home
  58. https://www.facebook.com/immersiveyork/posts/the-yellow-house-is-just-one-of-the-many-paintings-youll-explore-when-you-opt-in/1383275736332610/
  59. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/164/
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