Vincent van Gogh – “the painter on the road to Tarascon” – 1888

The road to Tarascon heads north out of Arles from Place Lamartine, which in 1888, was the site of Vincent van Gogh’s “Yellow House”.

Vincent drew and painted himself on the road “on his way to work” is how he put it, on the road to Tarascon. In September 2007, when visiting Arles, I wanted to find this place and experience it for myself. How much had it changed? What was his commute like?

Sadly, the painting (above)  was destroyed in 1944 during an Allied bombing raid on the German museum in which it was housed.

Exiting Place Lamartine, where Vincent’s “Yellow House” once stood, you immediately pass under the same viaduct that Vincent did. Van Gogh aficionados will recognise this view.

Vincent’s walk took him past fields and orchards, over canals, and down the tree-lined roads.

It was one of Vincent’s favourite walks, and took him into the landscapes which inspired him to produce some the greatest paintings ever made.

Today the N570 is still tree-lined but you have to drive through Arles northern suburbs, past out-of-town commerce centres and car sales lots until you finally escape the town.

Today we continued north, looking for a view like the one in Vincent’s drawing “On the road to Tarascon” and we found it.

Here’s me on the road to Tarascon:

It’s only a road, and it’s only a drawing but to be able to find a point on the road today with the mountains in the background and trees lining the road – just like Vincent showed us in 1888 – was really a thrill for this van Gogh aficionado!

Are you an admirer of Vincent van Gogh?
Check out my hand painted map “The life and works of Vincent van Gogh”

This blog was first published in 2007. Reworked and republished in 2023.