Vincent van Gogh
In late May 1888, during his stay in Arles, Vincent van Gogh visited Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the Mediterranean. Elated, he described the color of the sea to his brother Theo as being "like mackerel, in other words, changing – you don’t always know if it’s green or purple – you don’t always know if it’s blue – because a second later, its changing reflection has taken on a pink or grey hue." He stayed a few days in the fishing village and in that short period made nine drawings, two paintings with beach scenes and seascapes with fishing boats, and this painting of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer itself.
Van Gogh depicted the houses built close together with surfaces in different colors. The rows of cultivated plants (possibly grapevines or flax) lead to the village with the church at its center. The sides of the houses facing the sun are painted in warm and light tints, and the shadow sides in blue. Apart from the rows of cultivated plants, the painting is dominated by the "green blue of the sky heated white-hot," as the artist described the light of Provence in one of his letters.
We present today's masterpiece thanks to the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo. If you're hungry for van Gogh and would like to hang one on your wall, please check DailyArt Prints, our shop with super high-quality prints. :)
P.S. Here's an alternative look at the often-discussed mental health of Vincent van Gogh. Do you believe that art saved his life?