An excursion to the coast
Seascape at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
‘I plan to make an excursion […], to see the Mediterranean at last’
In the spring of 1888, Van Gogh took a trip from his home in Arles (southern France) to the fishing village of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the Mediterranean coast.
Although he spent less than a week there, it was a very productive time. He made no fewer than nine drawings and three paintings of the area.
These are the three paintings that Van Gogh made of the village and the fishing boats at sea.
Three of the nine drawings that Van Gogh made in and around Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Postcard of the fishing village Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, c. 1910
The fishing village of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer was not far from Arles. It took Van Gogh just half a day to travel there by coach.
