Discover the enigma of the Roots, Van Gogh’s colorful farewell letter

It was alone and believing himself abandoned by everyone that Vincent Van Gogh attempted to end his life on July 27, 1890. “Don't cry. I did it for the good of all,” he said shortly before dying to reassure his brother Theo, who rushed as soon as he heard the news. He leaves as his will an unfinished letter to Theo and his paintings, in particular the last one, the Roots, painted a few hours before the fatal gesture. This painting, long misunderstood and the subject of much research, is defined by Wouter van der Veen as a “farewell letter in colors”, the hymn to the life of a man who felt his life “attacked at the very root” .

The latter, scientific director of the Van-Gogh Institute and specialist in his life and work, discovered in 2020 a postcard representing rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise. Van Gogh's last model was therefore these century-old trees with gnarled roots, lining the road which passed alongside the Ravoux inn.

This major discovery allows us to better understand the last thoughts of this cursed artist, who nevertheless had within him a fury for life manifested through his numerous and tormented canvases. Something to excite Wouter van der Veen and Emmanuel Coquery, curator of the Musée d'Orsay exhibition "Van Gogh in Auvers sur Oise - the last months", who will give a conference this Thursday on this improbable discovery, on the critical fortune and the consequences of the work as well as its deeper meaning. It will be followed by the screening of the film The Mystery of the Last Van Gogh by Mathilde Deschamps, which tells the story of this discovery.

An evening intended for Vincent's admirers as well as fans of artistic enigmas, on a canvas that has been forgotten for too long and yet necessary for understanding the entire work of the artist with his ears cut off.

Conference Thursday December 21 at 7 p.m., Auditorium of the Musée d'Orsay, Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 75007 Paris. Entrance 10€, reduced rate 8€.