Reframing Van Gogh, The bedroom, 1889, Art Institute of Chicago

Posted: 29 Jan 2025 by PML

Van Gogh painted this dynamic view of his bedroom in the Yellow House at Arles three times, this one being the second version. The first painting is in the Van Gogh Museum, and its digital version on the Museum website has been provided with a sliding shutter, enabling the viewer to see what the original colours would have looked like before they were degraded by sunlight and passing time.

The much warmer version which this imaginative filter enables us to see makes sense of the enthusiastic letter which the artist wrote to his brother, Theo, in October 1888, including a sketch of the composition:

References

[1]The Lely frame is original and of 17^th century manufacture, although it was recut on some of the plain surfaces in the 19^th century

[2]See Christopher Rowell, ‘Notes of the revival of the Auricular style for picture frames’, Auricular style: frames

[3]Jacob Simon, ‘Documenting developments in the taste for Auricular framing in Britain, 1620-80’, Auricular style: frames https://auricularstyleframes.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/documenting-developments-in-the-taste-for-auricular-framing-in-britain-1620-80/