The first paintings considered are the paintings of the Night Cafe and Cafe Terrace
at Night, which were both created in the first half of September 1888. In these paintings
one can already see a hint of “claustrophobia” which originates from the inner feelings of
the painter. Although Cafe Terrace at Night is a painting of the exterior, we can notice a
complete closure in it. Tall buildings are surrounding the street from the sides, and a look
down the street ensures us that in the end, there is no way out. Although outdoors, the
region depicted is actually closed, with very few people in it. Projected onto the painter’s
life, we see how he is becoming isolated and how there actually are very few people in
this area he reserves for himself. In the painting of the interior of the Night Cafe, the
claustrophobia is more present, since the painting is of the indoor. This shows a more
accentuated effect of him being drawn out of society, and the walls trapping him inside the
box, leaving him with only several people inside.
As time was passing by and his alienation becoming more and more intense, there
was one thing that van Gogh was looking forward to: a visit from Gauguin. Gauguin was
undoubtedly the artist that van Gogh respected the most. We see that from van Gogh’s
visions of the “Studio of the South”, where Gauguin was the one who was supposed to be
the leader of the companionship. Alas, even Gauguin was feeling ambivalent about
coming to Arles. A financial injection from Theo van Gogh, Vincent’s brother, was what
ultimately made Gauguin’s visit possible, and thus he was finally set to visit Van Gogh.
Gauguin arrived at Arles on the 23th of October (Bronkhorst 98). Only a few days prior to
the arrival of the guest, on 16-17 of October 1888, Van Gogh did a painting of his own
bedroom. In this painting, the space depicted is almost hermetically closed, and even
smaller than in the previous ones. It is just one room, very small in area, with no
connection to the outside, implying his growing isolation. In the contrast to the prior
paintings, in this one there are no people in the painting, but still, there is place enough for
exactly two people to live in there. So who was van Gogh saving the other spot for?
Knowing the date of the painting, we know that it is Gauguin he is saving it for. Thus,
even though we can see that van Gogh is closing into himself, he still leaves enough space
for Gauguin, and is clearly excited for finally having a friend and a peer painter to work
with. He shows his excitement it in the letter he wrote to Theo, where, in connection with
Gauguin’s coming he states that “One always loses when one is isolated.” (Graetz 142),
and that “If we each live alone, it means living like madmen or criminals, in appearance at
any rate, and also a little in reality” (Gogh 8). Albeit his alienation has now almost reached
the peak, leaving just enough space in his life for only one person, he still shows in the
letters how delighted he is by the idea that Gauguin is finally coming and that they will
finally be able to work together.