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wo men had a terrible fight
two days before Christmas
in 1888. One was the
tortured artist Vincent van
Gogh, who later that night
cut off part of his left ear, wrapped it
in a cloth and left the maimed piece of
flesh at a brothel. The other was fellow
painter Paul Gauguin, who left town
the next day. The two men never saw
each other again.
The infamous altercation happened
in Arles, Provence, a pretty town in
the South of France.
I’m in Arles as the starting point
of a week-long Avalon Waterways
Active & Discovery cruise along the
Rhône, travelling north to Lyon on
board Poetry II. As guide Cyprien
shows a small group of us aroundsun-baked and postcard-pretty Arles,
in contrast to van Gogh, I couldn’t
be happier here. Cyprien tells us van
Gogh worshipped Gauguin and was
devastated when the more confident
artist decided to return to Paris,
dashing van Gogh’s dreams of setting
up an artists’ colony. The Dutchman
only lived in Arles for a year, and
struggled with his mental health, but
it was a prolific time. I can see why he
was so inspired. Captivated by street
scenes, the landscape and bright
Mediterranean light, van Gogh
produced dozens of paintings from
his rented home near the riverbank.
Although his yellow house no longer
stands (the site was bombed by the
Allies during World War II), you can
still visit the locations he captured inhis artworks Starry Night Over the
Rhône, Café Terrace at Night and
Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles.
To get to France, my friends and
I had flown to Paris on Air Tahiti
Nui, with a two-day stopover in
Tahiti. Gauguin lived in Tahiti in the
early 1890s and the significance of
visiting two places that inspired such
important Post-Impressionist artists
wasn’t lost on me. I spent many hours
learning about van Gogh and Gauguin
when I was a student, but truth be
told, I don’t remember much from
those lessons as they were so long ago.
In Arles, I find myself in a classroom
again. I’m with fellow passengers at
Delt’art where we’re trying to channel
our inner artists. Teacher Philippe
appears endearingly nervous as heFrench
impressions
A week-long cruise along the Rhône takes passengers on Poetry II from
Arles to Avignon to Lyon. As Penny Lewis discovers, it’s a journey steeped
in art, history and, of course, wonderful local drops and delicacies.Travel