This sense of instability plagued Van Gogh throughout his life, imbuing his works with a unique blend of charm and excitement.
After leaving the sanatorium at Saint-Rémy in May 1890, Van Gogh traveled north to Auvers, outside Paris. The Church of Auvers is one of the most famous images from the last months of Van Gogh's life. He gave the landscape movement and emotion by depicting the scene with a palette of vividly contrasting colors and brushstrokes that guide the viewer through the painting. Van Gogh distorted and flattened the church's architecture, casting it in its own shadow, reflecting his complex relationship with spirituality and religion. Van Gogh gives the impression that true spirituality is found in nature and not in man's buildings. The influence of Japanese woodblock art is clearly visible in the thick dark contours and flat color fields of the roofs and landscape, while the visible brushstrokes of the Impressionists are elongated and emphasized. The use of the church's acidic tones and darkness alludes to the impending spiritual unrest that ultimately culminated in Van Gogh's suicide. This sense of instability plagued Van Gogh throughout his life, imbuing his works with a unique blend of charm and excitement.