Vincent van Gogh has fascinated our colleague Rosa for a long time. She has read extensively about him and watched documentaries on his life and work. "An intriguing story. Sad too, but that is precisely what makes it interesting to explore."

A filming journey through France

While preparing for her filming trip to the southern French coast, Rosa first delved deeply into the commune of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a location that was on the Film Team's list of routes they wanted to capture. "This will be one of those special locations that leaves an impression," Rosa already knew while mapping out the route. Besides being a beautiful, quintessentially Provençal town, it has an impressive ruin and, what fascinated her most, the psychiatric institution where the artist Vincent van Gogh spent a turbulent period of his life.

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Knowing that this town was part of the locations to be filmed, Rosa looked forward to filming this route from the very start of her trip. "I'm about to cycle through a remarkable chapter of art history," Rosa says. Once she arrived, she began early in the morning filming the town, its surroundings, and the ruin, saving the afternoon to film the psychiatric institution. "I wanted to sit here and take it all in, to be able to picture myself 135 years in the past."

She cycled to the psychiatric institution where Van Gogh had been a patient for a year. She recognized the place immediately. "I felt that he had walked here." After filming the garden, the building, and the views, Rosa knew: "There is a story here that deserves to be told on its own." That is where she came up with the idea for a route that would not simply showcase a city or setting, but tell a life story: "Van Gogh, the French Years."

Chapters through Van Gogh's life

The route takes you through four cities in France where a remarkable part of Van Gogh's life unfolded. It starts in Paris, passes through Arles and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and ends in Auvers-sur-Oise, the place where Van Gogh spent his final months in 1890. The first three cities are drawn from existing material, filmed for other routes. Auvers-sur-Oise would complete the story and is therefore the only city specifically mapped and filmed for this route. Together, the four cities form four chapters, each of which can be cycled separately. Cyclists are guided past the places where Van Gogh spent his time, while a voice-over narrates the story. Why did Van Gogh move? How did he and his painting develop? And which paintings were created in which locations?

Bike Labyrinth's first experience route

This is the first time Bike Labyrinth has designed a route in this way. "This route is meant to let people experience the story," Rosa says. She hopes the route will resonate with people who are interested in the artist, while they can also simply enjoy the visuals along the way.

"Because each city is its own chapter, you don't have to cycle the route all at once. You choose a city, complete it, and continue another time from where you left off. That way, you can spread the route out over several weeks and cycle it together with others. For residents of care facilities, that also creates something extra: a shared experience to talk about afterward."

Rosa's own favorite chapter is Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. "You cycle among the olive trees and cypresses that also appear in his paintings. You find yourself literally within the landscape he painted," Rosa concludes.