Vincent van Gogh The Bedroom October 1888 oil on canvas Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

Van Gogh painted The Bedroom in October 1888, precisely the time that Gauguin was to arrive in Arles. It shows his own bedroom, furnished with the basic items of life: a bed, chairs, table, window, mirror, and art on the walls. Each object is closely observed and lovingly portrayed. Van Gogh's everyday life experience is communicated in the most mundane details. The windows, for instance, seem to have been opened slightly to let in a bit of air. It is almost as if Van Gogh himself has just left the room. But the artist's presence is most clearly experienced through his technique -- the way he moves paint across the canvas. He has put himself into every stroke of paint.

One aspect of this painting is especially indicative of Van Gogh's growing confidence as an artist and as an individual: the walls are decorated with his own paintings, not with prints by other artists. He has begun to recognize that his own art is good. In previous years he had emulated other artists and had been awed by them; now he is coming into his own, taking pride in his creations.

Once again, the influence of Japanese prints is obvious in the way Van Gogh tilts the picture plane, creating a somewhat irrational space. He uses this device to present an emotional space, and that emotional quality is also apparent in the colors. The vivid yellow bed, the slightly acidic green in the floorboards, and the icy blues of walls and door are not so much descriptive as they are emotive. This painting shows Van Gogh as a fully formed master artist.

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