Vincent van Gogh lived in Auvers when he painted this painting of the garden of Charles-François Daubigny. Daubigny was an early practitioner of Plein air painting and he was much admired by the impressionists.
The painter had already passed away for nearly two decades (in 1878) when Vincent arrived in the village, but the house was something of a pilgrimage site. Daubigny’s widow still lived in the house and Vincent wrote to Theo that he hoped to visit her. He was taken not only with the house but with its luxurious garden, and he expressed to Theo the idea of producing a large canvas of the setting.
Vincent got the chance to visit Madame Daubigny and he got to paint the house and the garden. In the distance, you can see the tiny figure of Madame Daubigny walking in her lush garden, as well as the profile of the church.
Current location: Museum of Art, Hiroshima