Sunflowers
Page 35
Very special thanks to Barbara Braun, my agent and fellow art historian, who took a chance on an academic-turned-novelist. Very special thanks as well to Lucia Macro, my editor at Avon Books/HarperCollins, for believing in Sunflowers and giving it a good home. Everyone at Avon—a special thank you to Esi Sogah, assistant editor—has been amazing.
And finally, to Vincent van Gogh, whose art, words, and unflagging spirit have inspired not only me, but millions around the world. Fond as he was of sentimental novels, I’d like to think he would enjoy this one.
A+ AUTHOR INSIGHTS, EXTRAS & MORE…
FROM SHERAMY BUNDRICK AND AVON A
Discussion Questions for Reading Groups
Why do you think the author decided to have Vincent and Rachel meet in a garden? What significance does nature have in the story?
Perception versus reality is a theme of Sunflowers. What perceptions do strangers have about Vincent and Rachel? What perceptions do Vincent and Rachel have about each other when they first meet? How do their—and other people’s—perceptions change as the novel proceeds? Do you feel your perception of van Gogh and his work has changed as a result of reading the novel?
When Rachel goes to the Café de la Gare to watch Vincent paint, she expects to see a beautiful picture. Why is she disappointed? Why do you think the author chose to have the first painting Rachel sees be “sinister and brooding”?
Why is Rachel reluctant to visit Vincent’s house/studio at first? How does their relationship change when she does decide to visit? She remains reluctant to pose for him for most of the novel. Why do you think this is? Why does she change her mind?
Discuss Rachel’s reaction when seeing Vincent’s painting of sunflowers for the first time. Why does it hold such emotional appeal for her? Have you reacted strongly when seeing a work of art in a museum, whether by van Gogh or another artist? What is your favorite painting by van Gogh, and why?
Discuss the character of Paul Gauguin, remembering that we see him through Rachel’s eyes in the novel. How do Rachel’s feelings about Gauguin contrast with Vincent’s? Why is she so wary of him? Are her suspicions justified?
Vincent’s mental illness (believed by some scholars today to be bipolar disorder) manifests itself over the course of Gauguin’s stay in Arles. Do you see hints of his illness before Gauguin’s arrival that Rachel does not notice? What factors made it worsen, do you think?
How does Rachel cope with the dramatic and tragic events that happen in December 1888 and afterward? Twice in the novel before those events, she refers to girls “braver than I”—but is she braver than she thinks? Vincent is surprised Rachel continues to stand by him. Were you surprised? Was there ever a point in the story where you feel you would walk away?
Discuss Vincent’s relationship with his brother Theo, which is “off-camera” for most of the novel. What perception does Rachel have of Vincent’s brother? Does her perception change when she finally meets him?
In chapter 19, Rachel says, “I think you’re afraid to be happy, Vincent. And I don’t know why.” Why is Vincent so reluctant to reveal his relationship with Rachel to his family, even at that stage? Fear torments both Vincent and Rachel over the course of the novel: what are Vincent’s greatest fears? Rachel’s?
Discuss two pairs of characters important in Vincent and Rachel’s story: Joseph Roulin and Félix Rey; Françoise and Madame Roulin. How do they compare and contrast with one another?
Discuss Rachel’s relationship with Félix. Do you agree with her decisions about him? Why does she turn to Félix at that point in the story? How does Vincent react?
The theme of containment (or imprisonment) versus freedom is important in Sunflowers. In what ways is this theme expressed?
“Working is the only thing that does me real good,” Vincent tells Rachel while he is in the asylum at Saint-Rémy, when she worries he works too hard on his painting. Do you agree? Why is Vincent so driven to create, even when he is most ill?
Why do you think the author chose letters between characters as a way to communicate key events? Did you find this method effective—why or why not?
Why does Rachel feel it so important to go to Paris and then Auvers-sur-Oise at the novel’s end? Would you have done the same? What does she learn there?
Why do you think the author chose to call the novel Sunflowers?
Selected van Gogh Paintings Referenced in the Novel
All paintings and drawings described or mentioned in the novel exist except Vincent’s three sketches and half-finished painting of Rachel. This list presents some of the mentioned paintings by van Gogh, which amount to a fraction of his actual output. Their historical dates are consistent with the time frame given in the novel, with a few minor exceptions where I moved something a few days up or few days back. The order in which the various versions of La Berceuse were painted is debated; I follow the chronology developed by Kristin Hoermann Lister (see Further Reading), although I do not mention the fifth version, painted in late March 1889 (now in the Kröller-Müller Museum).
The historical Rachel may appear in The Brothel—the girl to the left in the yellow dress—although this is unconfirmed. Van Gogh intended to paint a brothel picture based on The Brothel oil sketch, but it remains unknown why he did not. The painting that Vincent gives Rachel in the novel is Poet’s Garden II. Although the historical Vincent provided Theo a letter sketch of this painting, it was never sent to Paris, and its whereabouts have been unknown ever since. Van Gogh gave some of his paintings to friends as gifts, and likely he did the same with Poet’s Garden II. We just don’t know to whom.
Chapter 2
Portrait of Joseph Roulin
July 1888
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
La Mousmé
July 1888
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Chapter 3
Night Café in the Place Lamartine
Sept 1888
Yale Univ. Art Gallery
Chapter 4
Public Garden of the Place Lamartine (Poet’s Garden I)
Sept 1888
Art Institute of Chicago
Portrait of Patience Escalier
Aug 1888
Private Collection
Coal Barges
Aug 1888
Private Collection
Self-Portrait as Japanese Bonze
Sept 1888
Harvard Univ. Art Museums
Café Terrace at Night
Sept 1888
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Sunflowers
Aug 1888
National Gallery, London
Chapter 6
Starry Night over the Rhône
Sept 1888
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Chapter 7
The Yellow House
Sept 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Green Vineyard
Sept 1888
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Sunflowers kothek,
Aug 1888
Neue Pina-Munich
Public Garden with Round Bush (Poet’s Garden II)
Sept 1888
Whereabouts unknown since 1888
Public Garden with Couple and Fir Tree (Poet’s Garden III)
Sept 1888
Private Collection
The Lovers (Poet’s Garden IV)
Sept 1888
Whereabouts unknown
Chapter 8
Les Alyscamps
Oct 1888
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Chapter 9
The Brothel
Oct 1888
Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania
Nude Woman Reclining (Agostina Segatori?)
early 1887
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Chapter 16
The Sower
Nov 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Sower
Nov 188
8
Bürhle Foundation, Zurich
Portrait of Madame Ginoux
Nov 1888
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
The Red Vineyard
Nov 1888
Pushkin Museum, Moscow
Portrait of Joseph Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Kunstmuseum Winterthur
Portrait of Camille Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Museu de Arte de São Paulo
Portrait of Camille Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Portrait of Camille Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Portrait of Armand Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Museum Boymans-van Bruningen,
Portrait of Armand Roulin
Nov/Dec 1888
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Madame Roulin with Baby
Dec 1888
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
La Berceuse (Madame Roulin)
Dec 1888/ Jan 1889
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
Still Life: Pipe, Onions, and Sealing Wax
Jan 1889
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Jan 1889
Private Collection
Chapter 17
Portrait of Dr. Félix Rey
Jan 1889
Pushkin Museum, Moscow
Chapter 19
Sunflowers
Jan 1889
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Chapter 20
La Berceuse (Madame Roulin)
Jan 1889
Art Institute of Chicago
La Berceuse (Madame Roulin)
Jan/Feb 1889
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Chapter 22
La Berceuse (Madame Roulin)
Feb/March 1889
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum
Sunflowers
late Jan 1889
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Chapter 24
Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles
April 1889
Collection Oskar Reinhart
Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles
Sept 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Chapter 27
Red Chestnuts in the Public Park
April 1889
Private Collection
Chapter 29
Irises
May 1889
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Starry Night
June 1889
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Portrait of Charles Trabuc
Sept 1889
Kunstmuseum Solothurn
Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles
Sept 1889
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Chapter 30
Night (La Veillée), after Millet
Oct 1889
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Chapter 32
Pietà (after Delacroix)
Sept 1889
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Thatched Cottages in the Sunshine (Reminiscences of the North)
March 1890
Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania
Still Life with Irises against a Yellow Background
late April/ early May 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt)
May 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Chapter 34
Church at Auvers
June 1890
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Mademoiselle Gachet (?) in the
June 1890
Museé
Garden
d’Orsay, Paris
Portrait of Doctor Gachet
June 1890
Private Collection
Undergrowth with Two Figures
June 1890
Cincinnati Art Museum
Portrait of Adeline Ravoux
June 1890
Cleveland Museum of Art
Marguerite Gachet at Her Piano
June 1890
Kunstmuseum Basel
Auvers Town Hall on Bastille Day
July 1890
Private Collection
Chapter 36
Harvest at La Crau (The Blue Cart)
June 1888
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Almond Tree in Blossom
Feb/April 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
The Potato Eaters
April 1885
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Woman in a Café (Agostina Segatori)
early 1887
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Wheatfield with Cypresses
Sept 1889
National Gallery, London
Landscape with Couple Walking under a Crescent Moon
May 1890?
Museu de Arte de São Paulo
Crows Over a Wheatfield
July 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
A Few Words About Places…
A plaque marks the site of Vincent’s yellow house on the Place Lamartine in Arles, destroyed by Allied bombs in 1944. Bernard Soulé’s hotel still stands, but the buildings that once housed Marguerite Favier’s grocery shop, the Restaurant Vénissat, and the Café de la Gare were damaged in the bombing and eventually demolished. Most of the public garden in the Place Lamartine is now a parking lot. The Rue du Bout d’Arles is now the Rue des Écoles; the building that once housed Rachel’s brothel lies in ruins. In downtown Arles, one can visit the Roman arena, church of Saint-Trophime, public garden on the Boulevard des Lices, and relax at a café on the same spot as the one Vincent painted in the Place du Forum. The Alyscamps is a protected historical site and accessible to visitors.
In Saint-Rémy, the asylum remains a working hospital, today home to about 100 female patients, who engage in art therapy under the auspices of the Fondation Valetudo. Part of the hospital is open to visitors, including the chapel and a reconstruction of Vincent’s room. The buildings that housed Vincent’s actual room and his studio are reserved for patients and their visitors; so, too, the garden where he drew and painted. Around the asylum one can see olive groves evocative of those in Vincent’s time; a relatively new addition is the Roman archaeological site of Glanum next door to the hospital, excavated beginning in the 1920s. Vincent was standing on an ancient town when he painted Mont Gaussier and didn’t know it.
In Paris, the Gare de Lyon remains the gateway to southeastern France. A street adjoining the station is now called the Avenue van Gogh in the painter’s honor. In Montmartre, the former Place Ravignan is now the Place Émile Goudeau. The Hôtel du Poirier that stood here in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century housed many artists and writers, among them Albert Camus and Amedeo Modigliani. The studios in the square referenced by (the fictional) Madame Fouillet, converted in 1890 by the building’s (real) owner, Monsieur François, were later nicknamed the Bateau Lavoir and are best known as the place where Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907. Vincent and Theo’s apartment at 54, Rue Lepic remains a private residence. Theo and Johanna’s apartment at 8, Cité Pigalle is likewise a private residence. My descriptions of the latter are based on letters between the couple during their engagement, as compiled in Brief Happiness (see Further Reading).
The inn in Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent lived and died, known as the Auberge de la Mairie in his day, later became known as the Auberge Ravoux after the former innkeepers. Today, after an extensive restoration, the Auberge Ravoux (also known as the Maison de van Gogh) welcomes visitors to its restaurant once more. One can see the attic room where Vincent died, never occupied again because he was a suicide. Like Arles and Saint-Rémy, Auvers has plaques marking van Gogh sites for visitors: at the church,
for example, and at the crossroads from Crows over the Wheatfield.
Vincent’s grave is in the town cemetery of Auvers-sur-Oise; a law passed in 1881 decreed that all could be buried in the same cemetery regardless of religious belief or manner of death. Theo van Gogh—who died in January 1891 of complications from tertiary syphilis—lies next to his brother, his remains moved from Utrecht in 1914 at the request of Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. Johanna is buried in Amsterdam next to her second husband, Johan Cohen Gosschalk. Johanna deserves recognition for her significant contribution to the propagation of Vincent’s legacy, along with her son, Vincent Willem van Gogh, who, among other things, worked with the Dutch government to create the Van Gogh Museum.
The house of Dr. Paul Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise is recently restored and open to the public. Much of the Gachet collection, including some of the family’s van Gogh paintings, can be found in the Musée d’Orsay; Paul Gachet fils and his sister Marguerite sold other van Goghs in the first half of the twentieth century (including Marguerite Gachet at Her Piano to the Kunstmuseum Basel in 1934—see Distel and Stein 1999 in Further Reading). The core of the van Gogh family collection, including the majority of Vincent’s letters, a host of other archival materials, and paintings by Vincent and other artists of his and Theo’s acquaintance, forms the Van Gogh Museum collection in Amsterdam. Over the years, paintings and drawings by Vincent have scattered to museums, galleries, and private collections all over the world. Today they fetch prices that would shock and bewilder the artist who made them.