Van Gogh’s Debut as an Artist - Belgian Residence.
Follow in the footsteps of Van Gogh with a visit to the house he once lived in as he embarked on his artistic journey between 1878-1880. It was near Mons that one of the world’s best loved artists converted his life as a preacher to become a fully-fledged artist in the Borinage, Southern Belgium.
After saving the house which had fallen into disrepair over the century the City of Mons bought and restored the house to present it as it was when he lived there. The specially built pavilion enables visitors to understand the mind and spirit of Van Gogh during his time in the region, nearly 150 years ago. Through the scenography visitors gain an insight to the daily life and mind of its illustrious inhabitant. Themes such as that of a typical worker of the day and his modest home.
Discover replicas of the works he produced whilst living here. Such as “l’usine à coke à flénu” (the coke factory), “la maison Magros” (the magros house), “la maison Zandemnik” (the zandemnik house) and “les bécheurs” (the diggers) inspired from Jean-François Millet’s works - the original of which, acquired by the City of Mons, can be discovered in the Artothèque in Mons. You can also see his drawing instruction books which allowed him to perfect his brush stroke as well as works by Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo and letters he wrote about his life in the area at the time.
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Van Gogh house
Rue du Pavillon, 3
7033 Cuesmes, Belgium