Walking in Trust
Vincent Van Gogh:
The Painter on the Road to Tarascon
A sun-lit summer day captured
in colors and brush strokes
we now know so well.
The solitary figure
walking down a road
carrying paint box and canvas.
Yet there is an emptiness
a wanting to be accepted
for all you have to give.
The long shadow beneath you
like a deeper darkness
warning of things to come.
And now your painting,
as with your passing,
is wrapped in mystery.
Like a star in the night sky
that fades with the light of day
lost to time.
—
Dan Hardison
Calliope
Winter Edition 2024
Vincent van Gogh
The Painter on the Road to Tarascon
oil on canvas, 1888
(Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg, Germany)
The only self-portrait that shows Vincent van Gogh’s entire body instead of only his head and torso, it was painted during his stay in Arles, France, about two years before his death. The painting was purchased by the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Magdeburg, Germany in 1919 and a color photograph of the painting taken in the 1930s. During World War II, the painting was taken out of the museum’s storage and moved to a nearby salt mine to protect it. But the mine burst into flames when American troops entered on April 12, 1945. The cause of the fire was never known.
The Painter on the Road to Tarascon is believed to have been lost during the fire, but there are those who believe the painting may have been looted before the fire and still exists somewhere. The painting is one of only six Van Gogh paintings thought to have been lost or destroyed. The fate of the painting may remain a mystery, but we are fortunate to have the color photograph.
