The Bedroom
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Gallery 241
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026
Discussion · 4
Top · NewestVOICES FROM HISTORY
“This time it’s simply my bedroom. Here colour is to do everything… to be suggestive of rest or of sleep in general. In a word, looking at the picture ought to rest the brain, or rather the imagination.”
— Vincent van Gogh, letter to his brother Theo (no. 705), October 1888
“I wanted to express an absolute restfulness, you see, through all these very diverse tones — flat, plain colours like those in Japanese prints.”
— Vincent van Gogh, letter to Paul Gauguin (no. 706), October 1888
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Joan Whitaker · 14d
I taught this painting to high schoolers for twenty years. Every year someone would point out that the room looks crooked, and every year we would end up in the best discussion about why "wrong" perspective can feel more true.
Tom Alvarez · 13d
That crookedness is what I love about it. It looks like how a room feels when you are exhausted and finally home.
Kenji Nakamura · 12d
Saw this in Gallery 241 last month. It is smaller than I expected and the blue of the doors is much softer in person.
Carmen Reyes · 20d
He painted this room three times because he missed it. That is the detail that stays with me — homesickness you can hang on a wall.
