The Church at Auvers
Encyclopedia
The Church at Auvers was painted by Dutch
post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh
in 1890.
The Church at Auvers — along with other canvases such as The Town Hall at Auvers
and several paintings of small houses with thatched roofs — are reminiscent of scenes from the northern landscapes of his childhood and youth. A certain nostalgia for the north had already been apparent in his last weeks at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
: in a letter written a couple of weeks before his departure, he wrote "While I was ill I nevertheless did some little canvases from memory which you will see later, memories of the North"
He specifically refers to similar work done back at Nuenen
when he describes this painting in a letter to his sister Wilhelmina:
The "simple deep blue" was also used in Portrait of Adeline Ravoux, painted in the same short period in Auvers-sur-Oise.
The foreground of The Church at Auvers is brightly lit by the sun, but the church itself sits in its own shadow, and "neither reflects nor emanates any light of its own." After Van Gogh had been dismissed from the evangelical career he had hoped to continue in the Borinage
, he wrote to his brother Theo from Cuesmes
in July 1880, and quoted Shakespeare's
image from Henry IV, Part 1
of the dark emptiness inside a church to symbolize "empty and unenlightened preaching": "Their God is like the God of Shakespeare's drunken Falstaff, 'the inside of a church'"
The motif of diverging paths also appears in Wheat Field with Crows
.
", the tenth episode of the fifth series
of the science-fiction television programme Doctor Who
. In it, the painting depicts a strange creature (called a "Krafayis") at a window of the church, which signifies to the show's time-travelling
protagonist, the Doctor
, that something evil was lurking in Auvers-sur-Oise. Only when van Gogh himself, played by Tony Curran
, defeats the creature at the church, does the painting revert back to its original, unaltered, state. It is interesting to note that the creature is later revealed to have been blind, with blindness to the colors and shapes of the world and sky (as Vincent saw them) being a reoccurring theme of the episode.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
post-impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
in 1890.
History
The Church at Auvers — along with other canvases such as The Town Hall at Auvers
The Town Hall at Auvers
The Town Hall at Auvers is a painting by Vincent van Gogh, executed mid-July 1890. It is based on the view Van Gogh had when he stepped out on the street from the Auberge Ravoux, where he stayed....
and several paintings of small houses with thatched roofs — are reminiscent of scenes from the northern landscapes of his childhood and youth. A certain nostalgia for the north had already been apparent in his last weeks at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Geography:...
: in a letter written a couple of weeks before his departure, he wrote "While I was ill I nevertheless did some little canvases from memory which you will see later, memories of the North"
He specifically refers to similar work done back at Nuenen
Nuenen
Nuenen is a town in the municipality of Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten, in the Netherlands.Vincent Van Gogh resided in Nuenen from 1883-1885. During that time he painted many character studies of peasants and weavers that culminated in The Potato Eaters...
when he describes this painting in a letter to his sister Wilhelmina:
The foreground of The Church at Auvers is brightly lit by the sun, but the church itself sits in its own shadow, and "neither reflects nor emanates any light of its own." After Van Gogh had been dismissed from the evangelical career he had hoped to continue in the Borinage
Borinage
The Borinage is an area in the Walloon province of Hainaut. The provincial capital Mons is located in the east of the Borinage. In French the inhabitants are called Borains...
, he wrote to his brother Theo from Cuesmes
Cuesmes
Cuesmes is a village near the Belgian town Mons in the province of Hainaut. The artist Vincent Van Gogh was a resident....
in July 1880, and quoted Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
image from Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
of the dark emptiness inside a church to symbolize "empty and unenlightened preaching": "Their God is like the God of Shakespeare's drunken Falstaff, 'the inside of a church'"
The motif of diverging paths also appears in Wheat Field with Crows
Wheat Field with Crows
Wheatfield with Crows is a July 1890 painting by Vincent van Gogh. It is commonly but mistakenly stated that this was Van Gogh's last painting...
.
In popular culture
The Church at Auvers plays a prominent role in "Vincent and the DoctorVincent and the Doctor
"Vincent and the Doctor" is the 10th episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 5 June 2010...
", the tenth episode of the fifth series
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...
of the science-fiction television programme Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. In it, the painting depicts a strange creature (called a "Krafayis") at a window of the church, which signifies to the show's time-travelling
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
protagonist, the Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
, that something evil was lurking in Auvers-sur-Oise. Only when van Gogh himself, played by Tony Curran
Tony Curran
Anthony "Tony" Curran is a Scottish actor.Curran was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is an alumnus of Holyrood Secondary School and is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama....
, defeats the creature at the church, does the painting revert back to its original, unaltered, state. It is interesting to note that the creature is later revealed to have been blind, with blindness to the colors and shapes of the world and sky (as Vincent saw them) being a reoccurring theme of the episode.