View of Arles from a Hill 1888

Curator: Here we have Vincent van Gogh’s “View of Arles from a Hill,” created in 1888 with ink on paper. Van Gogh produced this cityscape while living in Arles, offering us his particular perspective of the town. Editor: My first thought is—claustrophobia, but a pleasant sort? The high vantage point should give this drawing a sense of spaciousness, but all those tight, scratching lines of ink almost box the town in. Curator: Exactly. It’s less about an expansive view and more about feeling pressed against nature as one observes it. Look how the ink rendering creates movement, as if the landscape itself is breathing—or sighing, perhaps? Editor: Given Van Gogh’s state of mind at this time, one wonders if that “sigh” carries some heavier weight. The rooftops appear like teeth on the horizon, under that sky. It also shows how urbanization increasingly encroached upon rural lives and the landscapes of southern France, disrupting natural resources. Curator: True, that horizon is like a jagged edge. Van Gogh found such solace in the natural world. Though I think we might consider his deliberate mark-making in relationship to impressionism—that breaking down of light and form—taken to almost obsessive lengths here, perhaps to digest the changing landscape in front of him? Editor: I wonder too about this drawing's legacy. It predates a lot of the anxiety that characterized later cityscapes in the 20th century, but carries an environmental foreboding nonetheless, if only read in retrospect. It is haunting. Curator: Yes, even with the sun peeking through those clouds. Editor: Revisiting this today certainly alters my perspective on urban landscapes, thinking about the communities whose experiences are reflected—and affected—in what and how Van Gogh created this drawing. Curator: And seeing the work has clarified my own connection with Van Gogh, realizing his perspective still moves, disturbs, and ultimately intrigues.