Art: On October 23rd 1888 Paul Gauguin, "a 40-year-old artist with some reputation in the circles of the avant garde", took up residence at No 2 Place Lamartine, Arles in the south of France. Vincent van Gogh (who signed his paintings "Vincent") already occupied the small house which he had on the previous May 27th agreed to have painted yellow with green woodwork, and inside with blue doors.
The studio floor was a rich red. From May, Vincent had been doing all within his power to entice Gauguin to join him so that the two could work together. He had prepared a bedroom for Gauguin and there was sufficient space for them both to work. They had exchanged self-portraits. Vincent did not want to be alone.
Vincent had a notion of creating an artist's colony, which was not a new idea, but to found such a group in the "remote Midi, land of blazing sun and brilliant colour - that was absolutely new, and Vincent's own idea." What was also unusual was that everything was "to be simple which was an ideal as well as a matter of necessity". So the rush-bottomed chairs "were ordinary, unpretentious Arles chairs. But that kind of simplicity . . . pleased Vincent." What were not simple were Vincent's various paintings that were placed everywhere in the house, in particular in Gauguin's bedroom. There hung two sunflower paintings which were in Gayford's words "both crackling with electricity" in a way that no floral paintings had ever been done before.
Gayford, with admirable brevity, gives a quick sketch of the lives of Vincent (now 35) and Gauguin (now 40) and concentrates the text on the domestic and artistic events which unfolded in the Yellow House in the following nine weeks. To each chapter he gives a title but helpfully he gives the dates of the period to which the chapter refers, eg "9: Portrait of the Artist 4-15 December". He describes the respective works that both artists created, their different methods of work, their trips, their meals, and the demi-monde in Arles in which they lived - including the fact that both of them incurred "hygienic expenses" in the nearby brothel.
Vincent's brother Theo is also present in the house through their correspondence, facilitated by a speedy and frequent postal system which is today unimaginable. The correspondence provides a unique entrance into some of the workings of Vincent's mind. However, between Vincent and Gauguin there were some tensions which, inevitably perhaps, began to intensify. But what precisely caused Vincent "to take the razor with which he sometimes shaved his beard and cut off his own left ear - or perhaps just the lower part of it (accounts differ)" is not clear, although some possible contributing factors are ventilated. However, this incident brought the nine weeks of creative collaboration in the Yellow House to an end. Gayford provides a succinct "Aftermath", which describes the fate of Vincent, then Theo, and finally that of Gauguin. Most of the Yellow House itself was reduced to rubble in 1944. The book proclaims Vincent's unique artistic vision, even if the black and white reproductions are of limited use, but that is a minor quibble. More importantly, it makes you want to contemplate anew, with an indulgence of time, as many of the originals of the paintings as are available to be seen.
The Yellow House: A biography By Martin Gayford Penguin/ Fig Tree, 356pp £18.99
John McBratney is a member of the board of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, Co Monaghan, and a barrister