Here's an article by the Getty talking about how Van Gogh's painting of Irises looked when freshly painted in 1889. The pigments have changed over the last 137 years. https://www.getty.edu/projects/van-goghs-irises-a-closer-look/
We were lucky enough to visit Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum where he painted those irises within the first week he arrived there in 1889. The grounds are of course full of blue-purple irises. The prophet Nostradamus also lived in St.-Remy-de-Provence. Just one kilometer south of S. Remy Provence is the ancient Roman city of Glanum, 40 kilometers further is the Pont du Gard aqueduct, 44 kilometers away is Nimes- an important provincial hub in Roman Gaul.
In 2008 together with some other people we searched the garden of a house where Vincent van Gogh lived in Nuenen (the Netherlands). We discovered a can with very blue paint. We did a lot of research, but never found the proof that links is to van Gogh.
And of course beautiful Arles, only 25 km from St Remy, where van Gogh lived during most of his time in Provence. Arles was my usual base for travels through Provence, it also has several important Roman monuments, including a theatre and an arena. And the idyllic necropolis of les Alyscamps, painted by both van Gogh and Gauguin. Arles is also the gateway to the marshes of the Camargue, with its flamingoes, wild horses and black bulls.
Arles was our base too-a beautiful little city (we met some quite friendly locals) . The arena and archaeology museum are impressive. This is one of the sites in town that I personally found quite striking- "The Cryptoporticus of Arles- is a 1st-century BC underground Roman double-gallery built around 30–20 BC to level the sloping ground and support the city's forum. Located beneath the Arles City Hall, this UNESCO World Heritage site features U-shaped vaulted corridors open for public exploration." My Wife and I were alone in the space and it was quite haunting, one of those places where you can really feel the past. The Cryptoporticus is under the City Hall but also very close to where Van Gogh painted 'Cafe Terrace at Night'- the cafe is still there. First pic's the cafe.
Wonderful video @Ex Libris -Just read the transcript of the YouTube clip. Will do a deeper dive when back from the dentist.What an adventure !
I have been to both. During my first stay in Arles I had no idea there was such a thing as the Cryptoporticus, but my second time I had become friends with a Dutch guide of the Papal Palace in Avignon (he was a semi-professional dancer, just like I was), and he knew just about everything there was to know about Provençal history. He and his Provençal boyfriend took us to the Cryptoporticus. I read that there is some sort of show there now, so visitors get an idea of the function etc. I am very glad we were spared that. The terrace of the café is one of those things we always had a drink at, just for fun. But I usually preferred the cafés along the Boulevard de Lices, in spite of the exhaust fumes. What's a bit of fumigation while on holidays.
It probably sounds silly, but I sensed a real presence of the past in the Cryptoporticus-I was a bit spooked, but then I'm an odd duck that way !
A list of Roman temples. Surprising how many there are to be found. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ancient_Roman_temples Debora
And the list isn't even complete. None of the Dutch temple remains are on the list even though at least two of them, the remains of two Gallo-Roman temples in Elst, are officially World Heritage sites.
It was the trailer of a full documentary. There was a DVD made. I wasn't able to find a second hand copy online.
@Ex Libris may I ask how you came to be part of this investigation ? Looks to have been fascinating adventure. Tried finding links to this video but kept running into a doc- 'Loving Vincent', even 'Vincent Auto Body & Paint Shop', not a whisper of a Vincent van Gogh pigment/paint documentary.
AJ & others-This is IMHO an excellent Time Team doc- 'The Boat On The Rhine/S13 EP5/Utrecht, Netherlands'. Time Team head to Utrecht Netherlands to investigate a combined Roman fort and trading center. Their main interest is a previously excavated Roman ship. What starts as a routine investigation quickly develops into a dig that will forever change what we thought we knew of the Romans and the vessels they sailed in.'
I was a volunteer at the archaeological department of my city. I did a lot of research for them. The city’s head archaeologist invited me in this case as I was a trusted metal detectorist.
