Traces on Stone

I’m often attracted to walls because of their enigmatic qualities. But the mysteries they hold are not always easily solved.

Wandering around the courtyard of what was once the hospital in Arles where Van Gogh was treated following the ear-cutting incident, I noticed some markings on one of the exterior walls, showing outlines of what had obviously once been a roof.

To me, traces like these are like archaeological remains, pointers to previous layers of life. I try to make sense of them, join up the dots and imagine what was there before.
Later that day, while looking at one of Van Gogh’s paintings of this courtyard, it suddenly leaped out at me… The lines I’d noticed are traces of the roof of what was once the hospital dispensary. The nun standing outside was the apothecary.

Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles Vincent Van Gogh, 1889, (image: Wikimedia Commons)

Present day view of the corner where the dispensary once stood.

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