THE FINAL PAINTING

First impressions

When I first saw “Racines d’arbres” ‘Tree Roots’, I felt a certain confusion, almost a sense of unease. I was intrigued by this painting, which bears no resemblance to anything I knew of Vincent van Gogh’s work. It is rich in colour but the subject is unclear, almost mysterious. However, in seeking to understand this painting better, I had no idea that I was about to make a surprising discovery.

Origin of the painting

The picture was painted on rue Daubigny in Auvers sur Oise (France) on 27 July 1890.

Technique: oil on canvas

Size: double square 100 cm x 50 cm

Usual location: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam¹

Description

Vincent van Gogh depicts the roots and trunks of trees. The interlacing of branches and roots, the profusion of colours and the absence of landmarks give this composition an almost abstract appearance.

The date :

Andries Bonger, Theo Van Gogh’s brother-in-law, mentions this painting as the last one painted by Vincent on the day of his suicide, 27 July 1890. In some ways, the painting seems unfinished.¹

Where did Vincent van Gogh set up his easel?

The location was recently determined on an embankment some 150 metres behind the Ravoux inn where he stayed. In 2020, researcher Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in Auvers-sur-Oise, who works on the life and work of Vincent van Gogh, published an analysis of Vincent van Gogh’s last day, the place where he spent that day and the last picture he painted.¹

The same root can be seen in these 3 photographs

and in the painting, confirming the location.

The question asked by the painting :

Vincent Van Gogh painted this picture shortly before his suicide.

We can imagine that the idea of killing himself was on his mind while he was painting the picture. It is even possible that the pistol shot was fired while he was standing in front of the canvas.

 Is this idea of death, or death itself, present in the painting?

In this painting, the roots, trunks and foliage are twisted, as if tortured. They express the tormented soul of the painter. But this is the case in many of Vincent van Gogh’s works. On the other hand, there is neither horizon nor sky here. This absence of reference points locks the gaze into an almost abstract composition.
However, numerous vertical lines take us towards the upper limit of the painting as if towards a symbolic sky, and it is at this limit that Vincent van Gogh seems to have painted a face lying down, as if extinguished. The features of this face and the red color of the beard and hair are reminiscent of that of the painter.
The portrait, which seems to emerge from a shroud of greenery, emerges from the painting at the top as if heading towards the sky.
Van Gogh was highly spiritual. It is likely that at the moment of carrying out the fatal act, he could imagine his body after his death. The face he painted would therefore be his last self-portrait.
It would thus be a mortuary self-portrait.

Is this Vincent van Gogh’s last self-portrait?

We can imagine the face lying as if emerging from a green shroud. The nose, the wrinkle under the cheek and the closed eye are painted black. The red color of the hair continues to the beard.

In this enlargement of the painting, it appears that the painter represented his face in profile. His eye is closed and the attitude seems peaceful, as if asleep.

Here is a sketch depicting Vincent Van Gogh on his deathbed. It was produced by Dr. Gachet two days after “Racines d’arbres” when the artist had just died.

The resemblance between the two images is surprising.

Dr Gachet quickly executed this drawing on the seat of a chair from which we can see the weave of the canework. It was then sent to the artist’s mother.

At the end of the 19th century, it was common to make a drawing or photograph of the deceased on their deathbed.

Questions

Did Vincent Van Gogh really want to represent himself in the painting?
Did the probable torments in those moments preceding his suicide push him to paint his lifeless portrait?
Is the face at the edge of the frame, as if rising towards the sky, symbolic of the painter’s religious beliefs?
Van Gogh painted around thirty self-portraits, this would thus be the last and only one in which he represents himself after death.
Did he begin to paint his portrait and out of repentance did not finish it?
Is- what is a pareidolia* that resembles the face of Vincent van Gogh?

*Illusion that shows a familiar shape in a messy image.

Analysis

An analysis of the painting reveals information about Vincent van Gogh’s state of mind when he painted the painting.
The artist is facing an embankment. A rare thing in his work, he paints a surface whose limit we cannot see. This embankment blocks his view. He has no perspective or opening towards any horizon.
This choice is not trivial when it is likely that suicidal thoughts obsess him. The shapes and colors seem knotted in an inextricable interlacing. This causes a perceptible feeling of disturbance in the face of this work.
The positioning of the mortuary face which seems to emerge from the top of the painting could be linked to its spiritual and religious vision. This face appears unfinished or incomplete. In several of his paintings, certain parts seem unfinished. This is likely to be the case here too.

Prints

I first discovered the painting “Racines d’arbres” “Tree Roots” in an art book. I noticed what seemed to me to be a lying face. I learned, a few months ago, that this painting was considered the last by Vincent Van Gogh.
The presence of his image then took on its full meaning through the representation of what the painter foreshadows a few hours before his death.
I think Vincent Van Gogh capable of painting this portrait hidden in this work as a last challenge. This painting would thus be his artistic testament.
I went to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris on November 9, 2023. I discovered the original painting for the first time during the exhibition “ Van Gogh in Auvers.”
The vision of the painting and the photographs I took seem to confirm my first impression.