View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy

1889 painting by Vincent van Gogh

F803
JH2124

MediumOil on canvasDimensions45.1 cm × 60.4 cm (17.8 in × 23.8 in)LocationPrivate collection

View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy is an oil on canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh that he painted in autumn 1889 at Saint-Rémy, France, where he had voluntarily incarcerated himself in a lunatic asylum.

The painting was originally thought to be a view of the church at Labbeville, near Auvers, where he moved following his stay at the asylum, but it is now accepted to be a view of the asylum and church at Saint-Rémy.^[1] It may have been among the 'autumn studies' mentioned in Vincent's letter to his brother Theo of 7 December 1889.^[2]

According to Ronald Pickvance, "the view is unique in van Gogh's entire Saint-Remy oeuvre. It is the only work that affords a glimpse of the Romanesque tower of the original Augustinian monastery; in this respect, it can be compared with several views of the Romanesque tower of Saint-Trophime in Arles (e.g., F409, F515). Stylistically, it can be compared with Entrance to a Quarry.^[3]

The painting was in the collection of the actress Elizabeth Taylor, on display in her living room. In 2003 the heirs of German Jewish art collector Margarete Mauthner filed a claim against Taylor for Van Gogh's View of the Hospice and the Chapel of Saint-Remy.^[4] Elizabeth Taylor's father, Francis Lenn Taylor, an art dealer, had acquired it in 1963. The claim was dismissed and the painting was sold at auction in 2012 following her death for $15,991,575.^[5]

References

^ de la Faille, Jacob Baart (1970). The works of Vincent van Gogh. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff. p. 305. OCLC 300160639.
^ "To Theo van Gogh. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Saturday, 7 December 1889". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
^ Pickvance, Ronald (1986). Van Gogh in Saint-Rémy and Auvers. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-87099-477-7.
^ "SA family fights Liz Taylor for painting". lootedart.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
^ Christie's, LotFinder: entry 5532359 (sale 8049, lot 12, London, 7 February 2012)

Bibliography

de la Faille, Jacob-Baart. The Works of Vincent van Gogh: His Paintings and Drawings. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff, 1970. ISBN 978-1-55660-811-7
Hulsker, Jan. The Complete Van Gogh. Oxford: Phaidon, 1980. ISBN 0-7148-2028-8
Naifeh, Steven; Smith, Gregory White. Van Gogh: The Life. Profile Books, 2011. ISBN 978-1-84668-010-6

Vincent van Gogh

General

Biography
List of works
List of drawings
Chronology
The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
Health
Auberge Ravoux
Death
Nazi looting of artworks by Vincent van Gogh
Posthumous fame
Cultural depictions
Lost Arles sketchbook

Groups of
works

Early works (1881–82)
Portraits (1881–1890)
Peasant Character Studies (1881–1885)
Van Gogh's family in his art (1881–1888)
Sien (1882–83)
Cottages (1883–1885)
Water Mill at Gennep (1884)
Still life paintings, Netherlands (1884–85)
Old Church Tower at Nuenen (1884–85)
Amsterdam (1885)
Wheat Fields (1885–1890)
Le Moulin de la Galette (1886)
Still life paintings, Paris (1886–87)
Montmartre (1886–87)
Self portraits (1886–1889)
Outskirts of Paris (1887)
Asnières (1887)
Seine (1887)
Japonaiserie (1887)
Sunflowers (1887–1889)
Trees and Undergrowth (1887–1890)
Copies by Vincent van Gogh (1887–1890)
Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
Saintes-Maries (1888)
Boats du Rhône (1888)
Décoration for the Yellow House (1888)
The Roulin Family (1888–89)
Hospital in Arles (1888–89)
Flowering Orchards (1888–89)
Almond Blossoms (1888–1890)
Paintings of Children (1888–1890)
The Wheat Field (1889)
Reaper (1889)
Olive Trees (1889)
Wheat Fields (1889)
Butterflies (1889–90)
Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy (1889–90)
Auvers size 30 canvases (1890)
Auvers Double-squares and Squares (1890)
Lost works by Vincent van Gogh
Display at Les XX, 1890

Oil paintings

1882	Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather Girl in White in the Woods Lying Cow A Girl in the Street, Two Coaches in the Background
1883	Cows in the Meadow Farmhouses Among Trees Bulb Fields Landscape with a Church at Twilight Landscape with Dunes Footbridge across a Ditch Marshy Landscape A Wind-Beaten Tree Farm with Stacks of Peat Farmhouses in Loosduinen near The Hague at Twilight Three Figures near a Canal with Windmill
1884	Two Rats Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen Landscape with Pollard Willows Cart with Black Ox Cart with Red and White Ox Lane in Autumn Water Mill at Opwetten Water Mill at Kollen Village at Sunset Avenue of Poplars in Autumn Avenue of Poplars at Sunset Head of an Old Farmer's Wife in a White Hat
1885	Still Life with Straw Hat The Potato Eaters Peasant Woman Digging Peasant Woman Digging Up Potatoes Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette
1886	Vase with Red Poppies Vase with White and Red Carnations The Kingfisher
1887	Poppy Flowers Wheat Field with a Lark View of Paris from Vincent's Room in the Rue Lepic Portrait of Père Tanguy A Woman Walking in a Garden Imperial Fritillaries in a Copper Vase Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin Red Cabbages and Garlic
1888	Madame Roulin and Her Baby Landscape with Snow La Mousmé The Zouave Still Life: Vase with Oleanders The Night Café The Yellow House Van Gogh's Chair Café Terrace at Night Starry Night Over the Rhône Portrait of the Artist's Mother Bedroom in Arles The Painter on the Road to Tarascon Les Alyscamps A Lane in the Public Garden at Arles Falling Autumn Leaves L'Arlésienne The Red Vineyard Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) Les Arènes Interior of a Restaurant in Arles A Lane near Arles Arles: View from the Wheat Fields Sunset at Montmajour Farmhouse in Provence Orchard with Cypresses
1889	Valley with Ploughman Seen from Above View of Arles, Flowering Orchards Portrait of Doctor Rey Crab on its Back Two Crabs Irises Lilac Bush The Starry Night The Gardener Self-portrait (1889) Self-portrait without beard Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear A Meadow in the Mountains: Le Mas de Saint-Paul A Road at Saint-Remy with Female Figure Enclosed Field with Peasant Rain Cypresses Wheat Field with Cypresses Green Wheat Field with Cypress The Diggers The Ravine of the Peyroulets Ivy View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy The Large Plane Trees
1890	The Siesta Road with Cypress and Star At Eternity's Gate Thatched Cottages and Houses Portrait of Dr. Gachet Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers Houses at Auvers White House at Night Landscape with a Carriage and a Train Girl in White The Church at Auvers Daubigny's Garden Farms near Auvers The Cows The Town Hall at Auvers Blossoming Chestnut Branches Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat Still Life: Vase with Pink Roses Portrait of Adeline Ravoux Plain near Auvers Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds Wheatfield with Crows Prisoners' Round (after Gustave Doré) Tree Roots Landscape at Auvers in the Rain Poppy Field