Late May -- 1888. Semi-homeless, Vincent van Gogh suddenly witnesses thousands of gypsies descend upon and bridge the Rhône on their annual pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a three-Mary mythic Mediterranean town forty kilometers southwest of Arles. As many beautiful Roma return one week later, Vincent's curiosity gets the better of him. He packs his bags, painting supplies, secures passage on a diligence and spends the next five days immersed in their spiritual aftermath.
Outlined by Dr. Naomi Margolis Maurer in her seminal book, The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom: The Thought and Art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, Vincent's own pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries would prove to revolutionize his approach to painting. This presentation will complement Margolis Maurer's work, while also offering new interpretations of Vincent's paintings, spotlighting his correspondence with penpal Émile Bernard as their search for a Symbolist Renaissance was born.
Image | "View of Saintes-Maries" by Vincent van Gogh, 1888
