The Story You Need to Know About Van Gogh’s Arles

Van Gogh’s Arles in the south of France: A Japanese artist explores where he sought Japan, now home to LUMA & Lee Ufan.

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Through my travels, I explore the connections between cultures, sharing ideas and aesthetics from a unique Japanese perspective.

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#vangogh #arles #saintremy #leeufan #lumaarles #arttravel

“I don’t need Japanese pictures here, for I am 
always telling myself that here I am in Japan.” Van Gogh wrote this from Arles 
in 1888. As a Japanese artist, I had to see what he found in person.
In this video, I’ll take you with me as I walk in his footsteps, and I’ll show you today’s Arles art 
scene – something he could never have imagined. But here’s the big question – did I actually 
find the Japan he was talking about? Hi, I’m Satomi, a Japanese artist based in London.
I’m on my way to Arles from Perpignan, and I’m genuinely excited to see what Van Gogh saw here.
In February 1888, at the age of 34, Van Gogh left Paris by night train and travelled south to 
this small town. Paris was hectic and expensive, and he longed for brighter colours, 
clearer light, and a calmer way of life. There are two main things 
he wanted to do in Arles. First, he dreamed of creating what he called 
a “Studio of the South” — an artist community where painters could live and work 
together, away from the pressures of Paris. Second, He wanted to bring the colour and 
clarity he admired in Japanese prints into his own painting. The light and vivid tones of 
Arles made him believe he could find his “Japan of the South,” and in his letters he even wrote 
that he hoped to live here “like a Japanese.” Now, if you’ve never heard of ukiyo-e, let me 
quickly explain. They are Japanese woodblock prints. From the 1860s, especially after 
the 1867 Paris Exposition, these prints spread through Europe and were sold in Paris 
markets. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists were fascinated by their bold outlines, 
flat areas of colour, and unusual viewpoints. Here are a couple of his Japanese-inspired 
paintings. This one is adapted from a Hiroshige print. And this one is based on an image by Eisen.
He wrote to his brother Theo: “All my work is based to some extent on Japanese art.”
But Van Gogh never actually visited Japan. His idea of “Japan” came from imagination 
and a few hundred woodblock prints. As soon as I arrived in 
Arles, I came straight here. This is where Van Gogh painted Café Terrace 
at Night. That yellow is so vivid and intense. He came here for the light, to paint with the 
bold simplicity he admired in Japanese prints. As a Japanese artist, I doubt those 
exact “Japanese” colours were ever here — as you might expect, the palette 
is Provençal, shaped by different light, climate and local pigments. So he transformed 
what he saw into his own language. About the colours in this Café Terrace 
at Night, he wrote in a letter: “It often seems to me that the night is even 
more richly coloured than the day, coloured in the most intense violets, blues and greens.”
When he painted this café, Van Gogh was productive but fragile. He was waiting for Paul Gauguin to 
join him, dreaming of a small artists’ commune. Gauguin arrived in October 1888, and 
for about nine weeks, they lived and worked together in Van Gogh’s home, the 
Yellow House. At first, it seemed perfect, but their personalities clashed. Gauguin 
was self-assured, sometimes domineering, whereas Van Gogh was intensely sensitive and 
changeable. Conflict was almost inevitable. Now, you’ve probably heard this next 
part before — it’s become one of the most famous stories in art history.
On 23 December, after a heated argument, Gauguin left for a hotel. Later that night, 
Vincent cut off part of his left ear. This is Espace Van Gogh, where Van 
Gogh was treated after the incident. In the first days, his condition was unstable; 
doctors kept him under observation and, for two or three days, placed him 
in an isolation cell. Reports from the time say he had hallucinations 
and feared he was being poisoned. But as he recovered, this courtyard 
became a refuge. Spring flowers, irises, forget-me-nots, and oleanders drew his eye. He 
painted ‘The Garden of the Hospital’ and ‘Ward in the Hospital’, turning pain into colour. When 
he was discharged in January, he tried to return to normal life. By late February, the neighbours 
had had enough. About thirty local residents signed a petition asking the mayor to have him 
committed, and the police closed the Yellow House. Vincent wrote on 19 March: “My house 
has been shut up by the police.” That rejection changed everything. He knew he 
couldn’t stay in Arles anymore. In May 1889, he voluntarily entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy 
so he could recover safely and keep painting. So I wanted to see Saint-Rémy for myself. I 
took a taxi, about a 30-minute drive. This place hit me even harder emotionally. 
I still think about it sometimes. When I got to the asylum, oh my goodness, 
I got goosebumps. It was strangely quiet, maybe just too quiet, that emptiness. 
The silence was almost frightening. Walking along the corridor, you will see glass 
cabinets of medical instruments and nurses’ uniforms – quite unsettling.
Life here followed a simple, supervised routine. He was still struggling 
with hallucinations and severe mood swings, but his doctor gave him a small room to paint 
in, and he kept working in that tiny space. What stayed with me was the next room. It’s one 
of the places I’ll never forget from my time in the south of France. It’s a reconstruction of his 
bedroom. Seeing it was overwhelming, knowing what he had been through. I couldn’t help wondering 
how he felt here, looking out through that small window and painting through his darkest period.
I hope you’ll have the chance to see it for yourself one day. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
But above all, this tiny space is where one of the world’s most famous paintings was born: The Starry 
Night. You’ve probably seen it in a schoolbook Through The Starry Night, Van Gogh wanted to 
capture more than what he could see. Nature’s energy and movement, and a spiritual 
connection between earth and sky.. It wasn’t about realistic representation, it’s 
the emotion the landscape stirred in him. I headed back to Arles, and now let me show you 
today’s art scene in Arles. The two places you shouldn’t miss are LUMA Arles and Lee Ufan Arles.
These places might represent what Van Gogh was trying to create.
LUMA was built by Swiss collector Maja Hoffmann. She invested at around $150 million 
to create one of Europe’s largest contemporary art complexes. Frank Gehry designed the tower, saying 
he wanted to ‘evoke’ Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Here, contemporary artists explore 
the same questions Van Gogh had: How do you capture light? How do 
you make the ordinary transcendent? It’s striking to see how strongly the town now 
revolves around art, largely thanks to his legacy. And then there’s Lee Ufan Arles. Lee Ufan was 
one of my favourite artists. He’s Korean-born but moved to Japan and became the leading theorist 
of Mono-ha, Japan’s first internationally recognised contemporary art movement.
This museum was designed by Tadao Ando. I have such vivid memories of Lee Ufan’s museum 
on Naoshima Island in Japan, also designed by Ando. Experiencing their collaboration again, 
this time in France, was incredibly moving. Perhaps Lee Ufan was looking for something Van 
Gogh wanted, but from the opposite direction—not vibrant expression, but quiet contemplation. 
The ma, the negative space, that speaks to something deep in Japanese aesthetics.
Decades later, what Van Gogh wanted to create in the 1880s is here. His vision 
of an artists’ community became reality. So before getting into my conclusion, I couldn’t show everything I saw in Arles in this 
video, but I created a curated guide introducing the places that inspired me during my two months 
in the south of France. If you’re an art lover, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It also includes 
backstories of the places I visited. You can find the link below, and your support always 
helps me keep creating, so thank you so much. My conclusion to the question, did 
I find the Japan Van Gogh mentioned? Obviously, it wasn’t Japan at all. The 
lighting, the colours, the architecture.. Everything feels entirely Provençal.
But here’s what I discovered: maybe imagination is more powerful than reality for artists. Van 
Gogh’s imagined Japan inspired revolutionary art. Van Gogh once wrote to Gauguin: “How I watched 
out to see ‘if it was like Japan yet’! Childish, isn’t it?” Even he knew his 
search was somewhat naïve. I think he was looking for a place where he could 
just calm down and focus on creation – the bright colours he couldn’t see in Paris, the simplified 
way of seeing he learned from ukiyo-e prints. As someone from Japan who’s lived in London 
for eight years, I feel this in some ways. The light in London wasn’t bright enough 
for me to get inspiration sometimes. The busy life juggling a full-time job and painting. 
I felt that same urgency Van Gogh probably felt. Sometimes, not seeing a place in person gives 
the imagination depth. The sense of longing is powerful. I felt it when I first moved to 
London, a city I’d long dreamed of living in back in Japan. But that pure, delicate feeling 
never quite returns once you’re used to a place. We can do a Google Images search for 
any place on earth now. Van Gogh had only imagination and a few woodblock 
prints. Yet his ‘Japan’ feels more alive, more urgent than anything I can find online. After two months in the south of France, I 
started to feel drawn back to Japan — to see the ‘real’ Japan he might have wanted to visit — 
with my own eyes shaped by eight years in London. Maybe that’s what we search for 
when we travel, not new places, but new eyes. Van Gogh found the discipline 
of looking he borrowed from Japanese art. And perhaps that’s enough – that beautiful 
collision between our dreams and reality. Next, the last destination on my South 
of France trip is Aix-en-Provence. This is where Paul Cézanne was born 
and created his masterpieces, and I got to visualise my dream there. 
There are still so many places and experiences I want to share with you, so 
don’t forget to subscribe to my channel. Thank you for watching, and I 
will see you in the next one.