Bedroom in Arles

This interior scene is painted in bright, airy colours. Although the floor is mauve and green features in the windows and paintings, it is the primary colours which stand out most in this piece. The contrast between the yellow bed and chairs with the blue wall and doors is a typical colour palette choice of the artist (as seen in Sunflowers). Van Gogh accurately portrays the perspective of the room in which he lived. Objects in the room suggest a paradox of both homeliness and sparsity: paintings on the wall – one of which is a copy of a self-portrait – and clothes on a hanger show this is a lived-in space, but the bareness of the furniture suggests that this is not a lavish or glamourous life. This is the third in a series of depictions of Van Gogh’s bedroom in ‘The Yellow House’ in Arles in which he rented four rooms. This painting was part of his “Réductions”, a set of his favourite works which he recreated in smaller-scale as a gift for his mother and sister Wil.