The Bedroom

The Bedroom is a painting that Van Gogh created during his stay at the Yellow House in Arles. He arranged his room with simple furnishings and his art on the walls. The bright colours were meant to convey a sense of “rest” or “sleep.” Research has shown that the strongly contrasting colours seen in the painting today are the result of fading over time. The walls and doors, for example, were originally purple rather than blue. The seemingly odd angle of the back wall is not a mistake on Van Gogh’s part – the corner was angled. The principles of perspective were not applied consistently throughout the painting, but this was a deliberate choice. Vincent told Theo in a letter that he had deliberately “straightened” the interior and left out the shadows to make the image look Japanese print. Van Gogh was very pleased with the painting, saying: “When I saw my materials again after my sickness, what appeared to be the best was the room.