Image:Van Goghs Final View - Window by Attic Room Deathbed.jpg

As is well known, Vincent van Gogh committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in the wheatfield behind the Chateau Auvers, the same field depicted in Wheatfield With Crows, one of his final works. Lesser known is the fact that after the shooting, he walked a half kilometer back to the Cafe Ravoux where he lived in an upstairs room, spoke to a few people, but saying nothing about his wound on the way in. By many accounts, after climbing the narrow stairway to his tiny attic room, he paused to look out of this small porthole window before he fell into his bed where he remained until dying two days later. Per local residents, written accounts, and operators of this preserved historical site, the view both inside and out remain largely unchanged since that time. Also, many of the subjects of the 76 paintings which were finished in the 70 days he lived in Auvers before his death, many of them his most famous, can be seen at least partially in the view from this window. Best known of these works are Stairway at Auvers, Portraits of Adeline Ravoux (3), Portrait of Doctor Gachet (recently sold for US$84.5 million), Gardens in Auvers, and many "Wheatfield" variations.

Own Work

Created September 28th, 2005

Own Work - Many thanks to the historical monument's management for allowing me many hours of unlimited and solitary access to the area. The private and quiet time I spent in Vincent's room, stairways, and other areas in the attic space where he lived enabled me to leave with a 'feel' for the era and van Gogh's tragic last days that will not to be forgotten.

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