The sunflowers, however, forever remain. A reminder of the fragile complexity of this artist: a man tormented with darkness, yet privy to such staggering beauty, light and vibrance.
A lone artist at a failed creative refuge, the poor man broke down and, in a fit of delirium, sliced off the entirety of his left ear.
His shaken friend subsequently abandoned the retreat.
Alas, the companionship between the two lasted merely a handful of months, ending climatically when a crazed Vincent threatened Gaugain with a knife.
Alongside his dear friend Paul Gaugain, he set off to invent and develop a style of painting the likes of which the world had never known before.
In preparation for his idyllic artistic community, Vincent prepared his iconic series of sunflowers with a vision to decorate the home of himself and his fellow artists in the countryside of France.