At the end of his life, Van Gogh was living in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, in France and staying in a small upstairs room at the Ravoux Inn. The Inn was owned and operated by the Ravoux family who had a daughter named Adeline. Adeline was a young girl when Vincent was living at the Ravoux Inn, but at the age of 76 she wrote a memoir of Van Gogh’s stay and the impression it made on her at a young age. Her fascinating account gives a very detailed depiction of Vincent at the end of his life. The following quotes are from this memoir.
“He was a man of good build, one shoulder slightly leaning on the side of his wounded ear, a very penetrating glance, gentle and calm, but not a very communicative character. When one spoke to him, he always replied with an agreeable smile.”
When commenting on the portrait that Van Gogh did of her Adeline said,
“I did not see a resemblance. Nevertheless, last year, someone who came to see me to talk about Van Gogh: the first time that they met me they recognized me from this portrait that Vincent had done and added: “This is not the youthful girl that you were that Vincent saw, but the woman that you would become.” Neither of my parents really appreciated this painting, nor did anyone else that saw it then. At this time very few people understood the paintings of Van Gogh.”
Read her full account here including Adeline’s record of Vincent’s final days.
Do we know anything of Adeline Ravoux and her family’s life following Vincent’s death at their Inn i.e. any biographical detail other than her memoir at age 76 years of Vincent’s last days there?