Imagine Van Gogh standing right here. This is the very spot where he painted his final masterpiece Tree Roots. It is a jumble of brightly colored tree trunks roots and stumps. The exact location of Tree Roots remained hidden for years. It was among a tangle of roots near a rural lane outside Paris.
The discovery sheds new light on Van Gogh’s mental state. He painted it on a hot July day in 1890. Afterward he staggered back to his inn with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Wouter van der Veen made the discovery. He is the scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in France. Van der Veen spotted the location using an old postcard. The postcard featured a man with a bicycle on a back street in Auvers-sur-Oise. Van Gogh spent his final weeks in this village. He completed dozens of paintings here. The postcard even included the street name which helped immensely.
Van der Veen was organizing files during France’s lockdown. He digitized old images including the postcard. He had an epiphany when he saw the card on his computer. The roots and trees matched the painting Tree Roots.
Researchers confirmed the location. They compared the painting the postcard and the hillside. A dendrologist specializing in historical vegetation helped. They concluded that the roots in Van Gogh’s painting were very likely the same.
The main tree trunk still stands after 130 years. Villagers even call it the elephant due to its shape. The location is about 500 feet from Auberge Ravoux. This is the inn where Van Gogh spent his last 70 days.
Emilie Gordenker is the director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. She said Van Gogh worked on Tree Roots until the end of the afternoon. He concentrated on the canvas for a long time. The sunlight in the painting confirms this.
Tree Roots is considered an harbinger of abstraction. Van Gogh never developed this painting style further. After working on Tree Roots Van Gogh walked into a wheat field. He shot himself in the chest. He died two days later on July 29 1890 at age 37.
Van der Veen believes the discovery shows Van Gogh was lucid. His final steps were carefully thought out. Tree Roots became his testament. The thicket of roots symbolized life’s struggles. Cutting down the tree allowed new shoots to appear. This made sense as a theme of life and death.
Now you can stand where Van Gogh created his last painting. This spot provides a moving experience for those who love Van Gogh. You are walking in the footsteps of a master.