View of the Asylum and Chapel at Saint Remy
His vantage point from the small window was enough that he could see several different buildings and the expanse of the wheat fields growing beyond. But there were days when he just stared unseeing out the window too ill to really even enjoy the view. His distinguished, yet haunted blue eyes were sunken into his thinning face. He didn’t have much of an appetite during his stay in the asylum and most days he ate only bread and soup.
Though painting was a calming past time, there were days that he wasn’t allowed his craft because of his compulsion to drink his turpentine and paints which would then add to the complications of his epilepsy and mental state. In spite of that, he managed to produce many paintings, and some of his most famous, during his stay at Saint-Paul.
When well enough, he could wander the gardens, grounds and halls of the property and often these sites would find their way into his art. A long corridor echoed his depression with its cold, vacant, gray benches and darkened shadows cast throughout.
expressionless eyes
pleading, hollow, impassive
a master’s heartbeat
I used a senryu here rather than the traditional haiku.
This is Haibun Monday #3 over at dVerse Poets and Bjorn shares a painting by van Gogh to inspire us: http://dversepoets.com/2015/11/02/haibun-monday-3/
Bodhirose's Blog 
Michael (contemplativemoorings)
/ November 4, 2015I really like how you ended this story…both the form and wording of those last three lines…
Excellent 🙂
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks so much, Michael, I so appreciate your generous words.
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navasolanature
/ November 4, 2015This seems to evoke the place and person.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015That’s what I was going for. I learned some more facts about his life and stay at the asylum. It was sad.
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lynn__
/ November 4, 2015You’ve captured the melancholy of van Gogh’s life and art.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks, Lynn. Isn’t it too bad that he didn’t know of his future success…
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Cheryl-Lynn
/ November 4, 2015A narrative of pain and darkness beautifully penned…an artist’s expressionless eyes says it all.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015What’s so amazing though is the brilliance that still came through in his artwork.
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Cheryl-Lynn
/ November 4, 2015So true!
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Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
/ November 4, 2015It is a wonder how many great paintings that an asylum can produce… somehow the grey corridors have to be the perfect backdrop for colors… I love how you went into the mind of van Gogh to write this wonderful haibun…
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Yes, isn’t it? Maybe we should use this form of inspiration more frequently in the future. I think you can tell maybe when his mood was better as to the subject and colors used. I have a fascination as to the workings of the mind. I’m sorry he was such a tormented soul. And thank you, Bjorn, for your kind compliment.
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Pleasant Street
/ November 4, 2015Very moving. Showing us the colors and the shadows made it even more so
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks so much, PS.
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Grace
/ November 4, 2015I like the deeper reflections of the man, in pain, under addictions, and frail mental state ~
Despite this, his work is wonderfully painted with lush colors ~ A lovely haibun Gayle ~
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thank you, Grace. I too find it pretty amazing that he produced such paintings with deep, rich colors that certainly didn’t reflect a troubled mind…at least some of the time.
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katiemiafrederick
/ November 4, 2015In every creature
i believe.. exists
a drive for freedom
from all illusory restraints..
and tools of brush
and paint can
express this
desire now
in humans
as great
as any
novel
or poetry book..
like any other expression
of what humans call art..
and it is truly sad when
it takes great
suffering
and pain
to set
those
eyes
of more of seeing
free as art..
but that
will
change
as expreSsinG
different becomes
more tolerating and accepting
as is the case coming now
where freedom
rings trueR..
in expresSinG
Living free now..
in.. IT.. info tech
a digital
brush
of
paint..
no less than
the opposable
thumb that
starts
IT all
in
humans
long long ago..
sketching imaginary
angle connections of stars
in sand.. with sticks..
sanskrit
comes next
and the
rest is collective
intelligence as
recorded history
and the rest
of culture
now..
and this
keyboard
of 1’s and
0’s as digit
of ART
becomes
ONE…
REAlitY
expresSinG aLL
tHUMb digit 0NE..:)
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Yes, a shame that perhaps it took his illness to unlock this magnificent art. Poor man…
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katiemiafrederick
/ November 4, 2015Yes.. So true…
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kanzensakura
/ November 4, 2015Exactly as I imagined it would have been for him. Truly masterful and sensitive. The senryu is perfection.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks so much, Toni. I was very touched by his story and found out even more as I researched a bit. Poor, brilliant man…
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kanzensakura
/ November 4, 2015I know. I visited the chapel and asylum at St. Remy. I learned so much there as well. They just weren’t ready for him at his time and indeed, I wonder if we in this time would have been any better.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015No, they weren’t prepared for what ailed him at all. I like to think that he would have better care these days, but you never know.
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kanzensakura
/ November 7, 2015No you don’t. But I imagine they were at least kind to him.
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Victoria
/ November 4, 2015This makes me want to weep–I didn’t know about the turpentine. I wish I could have been there to help…I’m not depressive (thank God) but I feel a certain kinship to him. Beautiful and poignant.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Victoria, I actually did a little research and found that he did drink turpentine and paint. It made me wonder if it brought about his mental conditions, but for sure it would have exacerbated them. Poor, poor man…
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Barbara
/ November 4, 2015You write so well. I can see and feel his suffering
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks so much, Barbara.
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Suzanne
/ November 4, 2015You have captured van Gogh’s suffering well. The line about drinking the turpentine got me. It is easy to imagine that is exactly what he did do.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thank you, Suzanne. In some of the little bit of research I did, I found that he did indeed drink turpentine and paint and ate mostly soup and bread. He surely was a tormented soul.
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Suzanne
/ November 5, 2015How awful. His body must have been in great pain as well as his mind. Have you seen the tragic paintings he did in the asylum where the inmates walk in a circle in grey uniforms?
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2015I did see that painting, Suzanne…pretty dismal for sure.
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kelly
/ November 4, 2015A lovely depiction of a sad story… Such beauty came from the depths of that tortured soul.
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Bodhirose
/ November 4, 2015Thanks so much, Kelly. Yes, amazing beauty flowed through him.
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MarinaSofia
/ November 5, 2015A hard-hitting and poignant description of a rather desperate state of mind – all the more to wonder how such maginificent art was created. The days when he wasn’t allowed to paint really got to me, as that must have been very painful. You really burrowed into his very soul – and interesting that you chose third person rather than first.
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2015After a little research into his stay at the asylum I learned some rather painful facts about him. He truly was a desperate and tortured soul…and yet magnificent talent flowed through him too. He would write letters to his brother, Theo, telling him how difficult it was when he couldn’t paint or had to ask permission. And thank you, Marina Sofia.
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petrujviljoen
/ November 5, 2015I agree with Kazenskura. This is a perfect. The fact of his drinking turpentine indicates his alcoholism, there must’ve been drugs involved too, outside of what he was given as medication or treatment.
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2015Thanks so much, I appreciate your compliment, Petru. He had a few mental and physical maladies that brought about a deep desperation within…poor man.
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Hannah Gosselin
/ November 5, 2015Oh, wow…this was intriguing and your closing line tying in with your title – very poignant!
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Bodhirose
/ November 5, 2015Thanks very much, Hannah, I appreciate that!
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Bryan Ens
/ November 7, 2015I knew that VanGogh had faced problems, but had never heard how troubled he was. Your piece is a wonderful tribute to a fantastic artist.
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Bodhirose
/ November 7, 2015Thanks so much, Bryan. I didn’t know the extent of his problems either until I dug a little into his background…really sad.
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mishunderstood
/ November 8, 2015I like how you incorporated many facts about van Gogh into your haibun. The last line of your prose really sums up the torment and darkness that he must have experienced.
“A long corridor echoed his depression with its cold, vacant, gray benches and darkened shadows cast throughout.” A vivid picture.
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Bodhirose
/ November 10, 2015Thanks so much…I appreciate your comment and compliment too. His is a fascinating story for sure.
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Snakypoet (Rosemary Nissen-Wade)
/ November 11, 2015Thank you for this further insight into my (and many people’s) favourite artist.
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Bodhirose
/ November 12, 2015You’re very welcome, Rosemary. He is a favorite of many. I just have to tell you that while you were over here at my blog I was revisiting your Cronewyze blog and reading up on how you took Reiki training. This past summer I took my level one training and really loved it. I had written a post called “Dead Woman Talking” and you had linked it to your Cronewyze blog…this was a while back. But found it interesting that we both were visiting each others blogs yesterday.
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