Two paintings by Vincent van Gogh, created in the aftermath of the Dutch artist’s ear mutilation, will be showcased together in London for the very first time.
The pieces, titled The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles and The Ward in the Hospital at Arles, which Van Gogh referred to as a pair, are set to be displayed at the Courtauld Gallery beginning next month, according to the Art Newspaper.
These artworks are the only creations by the post-impressionist artist from his time at the hospital in Arles, located in southern France where he was admitted.
Acquired in the 1920s by Swiss collector Oskar Reinhart, the pieces became part of his collection of around 200 works in Winterthur, near Zurich, which had previously been prohibited from lending.
The museum at Reinhart’s villa, known as Am Römerholz, welcomed visitors in 1970 but is currently closed for renovations. During this period, the paintings are lent to the Courtauld Gallery for the exhibit titled Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection, running from 14 February to 26 May. The exterior piece, The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, was previously displayed in London as part of the National Gallery’s Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers exhibition, which concluded on 19 January.
The creation of these two Van Gogh paintings began in the latter half of April 1889, during a period when the artist was residing in the hospital but permitted to paint in the daytime.
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The exhibition will commence with a selection of important works by artists who influenced the impressionists, featuring Goya’s expressive Still Life With Three Salmon Steaks, Géricault’s impactful A Man Suffering from Delusions of Military Rank, and Courbet’s challenging The Hammock.
Last year, the Courtauld narrowly avoided damage from a fire that affected the larger Somerset House complex in central London.
Fortunately, the gallery, which includes Van Gogh’s 1889 self-portrait with a bandaged ear, was not directly harmed by the fire and managed to reopen shortly after the situation was under control.
This article was updated on 27 January 2025 to clarify that this exhibition marks the first time the two paintings will be shown together in London. One of the artworks had already been presented in the recent Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers exhibition at the National Gallery.
