Ladies of St. Paul’s Asylum, St Rémy, France—In the footsteps of Van Gogh

These are portraits of those who are closest in spirit to making art in the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh. They are women who may be too fragile to survive in the outside world. Many of them paint in the very rooms and gardens that inspired him. Aware of the connection between creativity and mental health, these women paint not as therapy, but to discover and confirm their new identities, once unmoored by trauma or biology. They are by turns, tenaciously individual, then a protective community who depend on each other to stay anchored in reality. Like Van Gogh, the women paint when they are mentally strong, and seek comfort in their rooms when they are not. Many speak of Vincent as an inspirational force in their art and lives. One patient affirms the presence of his spirit in these ancient halls when she says, “Painting is for me a space of rest and freedom. When I don’t paint, I don’t feel alive. I feel empty. When I paint, I beautify the world. I give gifts. I belong to the world.”