La Diligence de Tarascon (1888)

Van Gogh, Vincent (1853-1890)

La Diligence de Tarascon (Tarascon Stagecoach)
1888
Oil on canvas, 71.4 x 92.5 cm
Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton

Closed shutters in the courtyard of the inn at Arles suggest it is siesta time, and short shadows indicate the early afternoon. Van Gogh wrote that the subject of this painting was suggested by Alphonse Daudet’s novel Tartarin de Tarascon (1872), in which an old stagecoach from Provence, now being used in the French colonies in North Africa, reminisces about its glory days on the TarasconNîmes route. Dating from the artist’s period in Arles (188889), the painting expresses his nostalgia for the old ways of Provence that were quickly disappearing. The composition also shows another influence: the Japanese prints the artist loved, with their bold compositions, non-Western perspective, and bright colors. (PUAM)

See also:

Arles (France) | Daudet, Alphonse (1840-1897) | Tarascon (France)