French couple owns the land where Van Gogh painted his last painting

Tree Roots (1890) by Vincent Van Gogh - Photo: Vincent Van Gogh Foundation

The dispute in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise (France) has recently come to an end. The French court ruled that the land related to the famous painter Van Gogh belongs to the couple, and the female mayor lost the case.

Fight over the land where Van Gogh painted

The mayor of Auvers-sur-Oise, Isabelle Mézières, has maintained for the past five years that the area is public property. Local authorities have been trying to reclaim the land since 2020, arguing that it is part of a public road.

However, the Court of Appeal in Versailles sided with Jean-François and Hélène Serlinger, the owners of the house, which includes the area where Van Gogh painted Tree Roots (1890).

The judge confirmed that the disputed area was indeed part of a public road, as the mayor had argued, and ordered the local authority to pay 2,000 euros (about 59 million VND) in court costs.

In 2013, the Serlinger couple bought house number 48, Daubigny street, Auvers-sur-Oise - the riverside village where Van Gogh lived his last days.

At the time of purchase, they had no idea of ​​the importance of this root-filled location to Van Gogh's creative career.

In 2020, the scientific director of the Van Gogh Institute, Wouter van der Veen, discovered the site after comparing an early 20th-century photograph of tree roots, which matched those in Van Gogh's painting.

In other words, the barren, root-filled plot of land in the back garden of number 48 is the subject of Tree Roots (1890), possibly the last work by one of the most beloved artists in the history of art.

Painted just hours before he took his own life in a nearby wheat field, Van Gogh painted the intertwining roots in vibrant colours - a clear expression of his inner struggle.

The barren, root-filled plot of land in the back garden of house number 48 is the subject of the painting Tree Roots (1890) - Photo:

Lovers can join a 30-minute tour of the garden for 8 euros (about 230,000 VND) - Photo: EPA-EFE

Mayor dissatisfied, demands appeal

“We are so happy that it is all over now,” Hélène Serlinger, 68, told the Independent . The newspaper said it was her love of Van Gogh that prompted her and her husband to move to the village in 1996.

"The mayor tried to take the land by saying it was part of the road, which was terrible. But the appeals court ruling was clear, and now we can focus all our efforts on taking care of the site," she said.

Since the Van Gogh Institute confirmed that this site is where the Dutch artist painted his final masterpiece, the couple has welcomed visitors from all over the world, including Van Gogh's family. Lovers can take a 30-minute tour of the garden for 8 euros (about 230,000 VND).

The painting currently hangs in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The work is unfinished and at first glance could be mistaken for “a jumble of bright colors and quirky abstract shapes,” as the museum itself notes.

However, the painting was described in a letter by Andries Bonger - Theo's brother-in-law, Vincent's younger brother - as: "The morning before he died, he painted a forest scene, full of light and life".

Ms. Mézières took to Facebook to express her displeasure with the ruling, asserting that the site was culturally significant and part of the history of the French town. She also pledged to appeal. The mayor lost her appeal in a local court in 2023.

"This place belongs to the people of Auvers!" she wrote. "Unbelievable, but true! We will continue to sue. There can be no compromise on the public interest of the people of Auvers in order to serve private interests.

The issue of ownership is still unresolved. The city itself has hired experts to assess the condition of these roots and has called on the Ministry of Culture to intervene to preserve the heritage for the people of Auvers. These roots are public property, not for sale!"

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cap-doi-phap-so-huu-khu-dat-danh-hoa-van-gogh-ve-buc-tranh-cuoi-cung-20250405131804761.htm