Vincent van Gogh is a person who made great contributions to the art world within his short lifespan. All of his painting works are considered as treasures and are very valuable for all lovers of artworks. While you are on your Musee d Orsay guided tours, you cannot miss out on the wonderful paintings of Van Gogh exhibited in the museum. Though there are many artworks of several other artists displayed here, van Gogh’s works are much loved by people. There are around twenty-seven paintings of van Gogh displayed in the Orsay museum. Most of them are found in rooms 71 and 72.

Van Gogh’s paintings make up an important part of the gallery of the Post-impressionists in the museum. Here are some of the important paintings of van Gogh that are displayed in the museum.

Portrait of the Artist

This is the painting van Gogh made of himself in the year 1887. He is known for making dozens of self-portraits. It is told that in between the period of 1886 and 1889, van Gogh made more than thirty self-portraits. As it is evident from the letter he wrote to his sister, he used himself as the model to save the money he will have to pay the model if a model is hired for the painting work. His features in the picture are reversed because he used a mirror while painting the picture. This painting can be found in room 71 of the museum.

Self Portrait

This is the most famous among the self-portraits van Gogh made. This was made in 1889 and depicted the change he had undergone in the time before that. This was drawn when van Gogh was in a difficult stage of life, and this can be understood when one compares this portrait with other self-portraits of him. Until the year 1949, this painting was in the private possession of Paul and Marguerite Gachet. Presently it is in room 71 of Musee de Orsay.

Starry Night over the Rhone

This painting completed by van Gogh in 1888 has the banks of the Rhone River as its location. He finished this artwork when he was in Arles before he went to the asylum. It was in the asylum he drew another picture called Starry Night. As Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo the stars in his painting symbolized hope. Even this masterpiece was kept in private custody until 1922. Later this painting was moved to room 72 of Musee d Orsay.

Van Gogh’s Room in Arles

This painting dates back to 1888 when Van Gogh was living in the Yellow House in the company of Gauguin. He made three copies of the same picture. One of them was destroyed by water, the second one is in Chicago, and the third one is displayed in room 72 of Musee d Orsay.

La Méridienne

This was completed in 1889 while he was in the asylum. During this time, he had no access to any subjects, and hence he started copying the work of other artists. He painted his version of many of the famous paintings in the world. He did this for many famous artists like Emile Bernard, Gustave Dore, etc. In doing this copy painting, Van Gogh used his talent, to make them unique from the already existing ones.

La Méridienne was done after he took inspiration from Noonday Rest by Jean-François Millet, a French painter. It is displayed in room 71 of Orsay.

Portrait of Dr. Gachet

It dates back to 1890 and the painting is of Dr. Gachet who was a friend of Van Gogh. He painted it only months before his death. There were two copies of which one was sold in an auction and the second one is displayed in room 71 of Orsay. The deep blue background of the portrait highlights the fatigued posture of the man in the picture. Van Gogh as his letters show was not so fond of the doctor at first but later could identify with him greatly.

Eugène Boch

Van Gogh met with Eugène Boch a Belgian painter while he was in Arles. He was so impressed by the face and green eyes of the young man. He decided to draw a portrait of him and that is how this painting happened. Van Gogh liked him so much and he named his painting as The Poet and hung it on his bedroom wall in the Yellow House. Now, the portrait can be seen in room 72 of the Orsay museum.

The Church in Auvers-sur-Oise

This is another of the last days’ paintings of Van Gogh. It is dated 1890. This painting depicts the Auverian Gothic church. In the last two months of his life, Van Gogh finished around seventy paintings. He used to paint one picture a day in those times.

Though Van Gogh lived only a short life, his paintings will remain close to the hearts of all art lovers. Watching the Van Gogh paintings on your Orsay museum tours can be an unforgettable experience.