Van Gogh's Ear by Bernadette Murphy

Author:Bernadette Murphy [Murphy, Bernadette]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Published: 2016-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

My dearest,

I received sad news today, Vincent is gravely ill, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I shall have to go there as my presence is required…of course I cannot say when I’ll be back; it depends on the circumstances. Go home & I shall keep you informed…Oh may the suffering I dread be staved off.5

In her introduction to the compilation of their letters, Brief Happiness, Jo stated that Theo heard about the crisis in Arles in a telegram from Gauguin. The telegraph service between Paris and Arles was highly efficient: telegrams could be sent from the post office on place de la République, one of Arles’ main squares, and would be delivered within the hour. On 24 December 1888 the branch was operating its winter schedule and opened at 8 a.m.6 Yet at that hour of the morning even Gauguin was unaware of the dreadful events of the night before. In his autobiography he provided a rough timeline of Christmas Eve morning. He got up late, according to him – around 7.30 a.m. – walked across to the Yellow House, was arrested by the police, went up to see ‘the body’ and was duly released. Then a doctor and carriage were called, to take Vincent to hospital. Gauguin wouldn’t have had time to get to the post office to send Theo a telegram until mid-morning at the earliest. Later that afternoon he sent Theo a second telegram, reassuring him that all was not lost. Theo dashed off a short note to Jo at the post office: ‘I hope it is not as bad as I thought at first. He is very sick but he might still recover.’7

Finally, after a long day at work, Theo went to the Gare de Lyon to catch a train south. He had a welcome surprise: Jo, who was ill with a cold, had delayed her trip back to Amsterdam and, despite feeling unwell, had travelled across Paris to see off her fiancé at the station. Leaving at 9.20 p.m., Theo began the arduous journey to the city that he had only heard about through his brother’s letters – the very same journey Vincent had taken just ten months earlier. Given the urgency, it’s likely he caught the express train number 11, which took only first-class passengers and arrived in Arles at the earliest possible time.8 In the whirlwind of activity – taking emergency leave from work, packing his bags, seeking news from Arles and relaying news to Jo – Theo was probably protected from the full force of his emotions. As he sat on the train that Christmas Eve, rattling through the night, the fear and apprehension of what might greet him in Arles must have filled his thoughts.

Theo van Gogh arrived in Arles at 1:20 p.m. on Christmas Day 1880. Paul Gauguin most likely met him at the station. It was a sunny, crisp winter’s day – in any other circumstances, the perfect weather to see Arles.9

The town was exceptionally quiet. As they

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