Latest news with #TreeRoots'
Euronews
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Court rules in favour of homeowners in land dispute over site of Van Gogh's final painting
ADVERTISEMENT In the final hours of his life, a 37-year-old Vincent Van Gogh set up his easel beside a tangled slope of roots and painted with furious intensity. The result - Tree Roots (1890)- was a chaotic burst of colour and form, interpreted by many as a visual cry from a mind in anguish. It is widely believed to be his last work before he shot himself in a nearby wheat field later that same day. More than 130 years later, that very spot - a quiet patch at the bottom of a garden in Auvers-sur-Oise - became the unlikely centre of a longstanding, bitter legal battle. Visitors view the barricaded site where Van Gogh painted his final work, Tree Roots, in Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris (July 29, 2020). Credit: AP Photo Since Van Gogh's final painting was identified to the garden of 48 Rue Daubigny in 2020, the homeowners, Jean-François and Hélène Serlinger, have turned their land into a destination for art lovers, offering guided tours (currently €8 per visit) and drawing visitors from around the world. However, the village mayor, Isabelle Mézières, launched a legal bid to seize the land, arguing it should belong to the public, not private individuals, and claiming it was part of the public road. The Serlingers insisted otherwise. They bought the land in 2013, long before its significance was discovered. A lower court ruled in the couple's favour in 2023, and now the Versailles appeal court has confirmed the decision, bringing the long-running feud to an apparent end. "The embankment containing the tree roots painted by Vincent Van Gogh does not constitute an accessory to the public highway," ruled the Versailles Administrative Court of Appeal. Tree roots at the exact spot where Van Gogh painted his final work, Tree Roots, now protected by a barrier in Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris, 29 July 2020. Credit: AP Photo Van Gogh's 'Tree Roots' (1890) Credit: Vincent Van Gogh Foundation Since the ruling, Mézières has taken to social media to denounce the ruling and vowed to continue legal action, declaring: 'These roots are not a commodity - they belong to the people of Auvers." She added: 'We are continuing our appeal. There is no question of giving in to the public interest of the people of Auvers over private interests. The question of ownership is not settled." How was the real-life spot of Van Gogh's final painting originally identified? The location of the legendary Dutch painter's suspected final artwork was identified by Dutch researcher Wouter van der Veen, the scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute in France. He made the discovery after recognising that the scene depicted in the painting matched a faded postcard showing a man standing next to a bicycle on a backstreet in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where Van Gogh spent his last weeks. The postcard, which included the name of the street, offered a crucial lead. The postcard showing a man by a bicycle in Auvers-sur-Oise which helped Dutch researcher Wouter van der Veen pinpoint the exact location of Van Gogh's final painting Credit: AP Photo Van der Veen's identification revealed that Van Gogh had painted Tree Roots on a sloping bank just outside the village, around 35 kilometres (21 miles) north of Paris. This discovery also provided a new insight into Van Gogh's final hours , confirming that he worked on the piece into the afternoon of his death. 'There has been a lot of speculation about his state of mind, but one thing that is very clear is that he spent quite a bit longer working on this painting right through the afternoon. We know that from the light fall in the work,' Emilie Gordenker, director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, told The Associated Press at the time of the discovery. 'So, you know, he really was at work right up to to the end.' According to the museum's account of Van Gogh's life, after working on Tree Roots , the artist walked into a nearby wheat field later that day and shot himself in the chest with a pistol. He died two days later, on 29 July 1890, at the age of 37.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
French mayor loses bid to snatch scene of iconic Van Gogh painting from villagers' back garden
A village feud over who owns extant tree roots behind Vincent Van Gogh last ever painting has been settled after a local mayor lost a court bid to take the land from a couple's garden. Just hours before his death in July 1890, Van Gogh painted a scene of tangled tree roots in vivid colours - putting his internal struggle on full display. In 2020, the very tree roots he painted were identified in the back garden of 48 Rue Daubigny, in the small riverside village of Auvers-sur-Oise where the artist spent his final days. Since its discovery, the site has been subject of a bitter row between the owners of the land, Jean-François and Hélène Serlinger, and Auvers' mayor, Isabelle Mézières. The local authorities tried to take the site under public ownership in 2020, claiming it was part of the public highway. However, a local court ruling in 2023 ruled against the mayor, and now the matter appears to be settled once and for all after the Versailles appeal court backed up the previous ruling. 'We are very happy that this is now over,' Mr Serlinger, 68, told The Independent. 'The mayor tried to grab the bottom part of the sire by saying it was part of the road which is terrible. 'But the appeal is very clear which is great, and now we can use our maximum energy to work on the site and welcome more people from around the world.' The couple were inspired by their love for Van Gogh and moved to the quaint French village of Auvers-sur-Oise in 1996. They acquired the extra land at the bottom of their garden in 2013, but had no idea the roots that lay there were of such significance at the time. Since the Van Gogh Institute identified the site as the place the Dutch master painted his final masterpiece in 2020, the couple have welcomed visitors from around the globe - including Van Gogh's family. Art enthusiasts can embark on a 30-minute tour of their garden when they open for the season on April 12 for €8. Since the appeal judgement was handed down, Ms Mézières has taken to social media to publicly criticised the couple. 'The Roots belong to the people of Auvers!,' she wrote, adding that she would be continuing legal action. 'We are taking legal action. There is no question of giving in to the public interest of the people of Auvers over private interests. The question of ownership is not settled. 'It was the city that had the condition of the roots assessed by an expert and called on the Ministry of Culture to preserve the heritage of the people of Auvers. These roots are a common good, not a commercial object!' 'Tree Roots' is the last masterpiece painted by Van Gogh before he shot himself in a nearby wheat field, likely hours later. This painting at first sight seems to display a jumble of bright colours in abstract forms, which are in fact a slope with tree trunks and roots. The work was not entirely completed and Andries Bonger, the brother-in-law of Vincent's brother Theo, described it in a letter: 'The morning before his death, he had painted a sous-bois [forest scene], full of sun and life.'
