Members - Inside Saint-Paul-de-Mausole by Asia Chmielewska, October 2026
I actually had to visit Saint-Paul-de-Mausole twice. The first time, the monastery was closed. It was an unusually hot, heavy day, with dark clouds gathering overhead and the feeling that a thunderstorm could break at any moment. I had made the journey there only to discover that I couldn't go inside.
So I came back the next morning.
The change in weather could hardly have been greater. It was a clear, sunny morning, with that Provençal light that makes everything that bit sharper. This time I could take my time, walk around the monastery and its gardens, and properly look at the landscape surrounding the building. That landscape is an important part of the story of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. Van Gogh spent just over a year here, from May 1889 until May 1890, and many of the paintings he made during that period came directly from the world around him.
Saint-Paul-de-Mausole is still a psychiatric hospital today. The modern part of the institution is not surprisingly closed to visitors, but the historical section preserves the areas associated with Van Gogh's stay, as well as parts of the older institution.
