Chrome Yellow - A Tragic Favorite?

Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, France 1889 Oil on Canvas by Van Gogh. Photo: Nadine Kelley, Musée d’Orsay, Paris ©2024

Van Gogh was passionate about color and especially loved chrome yellow which was known for its bright, warm hue. Van Gogh used it in many of his paintings, especially when he was in Arles. It allowed him to paint dramatic contrasts and to capture light, most famously in his sunflower and landscape paintings.

I ended my last blog entry with a question: Did Vincent van Gogh lick his brushes? The answer is most likely yes.

Whether he licked his brushes for practical reasons - moistening the ends of his brushes - or because he liked the taste (slightly sweet), we’ll never know for certain. But daily ingestion of even small amounts of lead over time can lead to symptoms of lead poisoning. Van Gogh used white lead (lead carbonate) and chrome yellow (lead chromate) in his paintings. Eventually, he would switch to using zinc white, but continued to use white lead to prime his canvases.

Letters to his brother Theo describe some of the symptoms of what was known (since 1822) as “painter’s colic”. He described abdominal pain, poor digestion, constipation, headaches, fatigue, and eventually hallucinations.

In addition, he may have suffered from retinal swelling caused by lead poisoning, which can cause the afflicted to see halos around objects due to the distortion of light entering the eyes. For an interactive look at his painting with plenty of halos, click The Starry Night. (I don’t know of any evidence connecting lead ingestion to how he depicted some objects in the nighttime sky).

Unfortunately, van Gogh had several bad habits: he drank alcohol and absinthe, he drank large amounts of coffee, and he smoked. He ate poorly and was malnourished. There are many theories about what he may have suffered from. In any case, ingesting lead and being exposed to turpentine (a solvent used to clean brushes and thin oil paints) didn’t help his health.

‍ ‍54 Rue Lepic, Montmartre, Paris. Photo: Nadine Kelley ©2024

Two years ago I visited a dear friend who lived north of Paris. During my stay, we took the train to Paris often. We visited the Montmartre district where Vincent came to live with his brother Theo, an established art dealer. They lived in a three-room apartment on the third floor at 54 Rue Lepic. Edgar Degas lived at 50 Rue Lepic, and Toulouse-Lautrec lived around the corner. He and Vincent attended the same art class for a time.

Almond Blossoms 1890, van Gogh, Chateau d’Auvers-sur-Oise. Photo:Nadine Kelley ©2024

We decided to make a trip to the small village of Auvers-sur-Oise, where van Gogh spent the last 3 months of his life. He painted at least 76 paintings in that short span.

We were lucky to find a traveling retrospective of his life and work at the Chateau d’Auvers-sur-Oise. “The Life of Vincent van Gogh - An Immersive Journey …”, displayed articles, letters, photos, and reminiscences of family, friends, and artists for each stage of his life. We walked from room to room and were transported back in time, where excellent reproductions of his paintings were also displayed.

Street leading to cemetery, Auvers-sur-Oise. Photo: Nadine Kelley ©2024

Van Gogh and his brother Theo, who died 6 months after van Gogh’s passing, are buried in the village cemetery, Cimetiere d’Auvers-sur-Oise. The gravesite is modest and covered in ivy.

Although the painting of Almond Blossoms was painted in 1890 in the south of France, there was a poignant moment when I noticed an almond tree in bloom across the lane from the cemetery.

Gravesite, “Ici Repose”, Here Rests - Photo: Nadine Kelley ©2024

Despite his many maladies and hardships throughout his short life, Vincent van Gogh left behind a body of work powered by a passion for color, movement, and emotion—rendered in a style wholly his own. It is sadly ironic that chrome yellow, which he loved, may have contributed to his ill health and fragile state of mind.

Almond Tree, Auvers-sur-Oise, France. Photo: Nadine Kelley ©2024

Thanks for reading! Please share with someone who might be interested. I am now taking pet portrait commissions, dogs, cats and horses for August/September.