TV Van Gogh Art Drama

The tense relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin while they were housemates in the south of France is to be explored in a drama for Channel 4. John Simm, who starred in the BBC1 drama Life on Mars, will play the Dutch artist in the film. It is due to be screened next year and confirms a trend towards screen depictions of the lives and works of great painters. Channel 4 is focusing on a period when Van Gogh and Gauguin cohabited in Arles in the South of France. The film's title, The Yellow House, refers to the address in Arles which the two men shared in November and December 1888. The artists will be shown as they approach middle age, still flat broke, and abandon respectability, family and friends to commit themselves to art. Their last hope is each other, but only if they can get along. Gauguin rightly fears that Van Gogh is on the brink of a psychological crisis; Van Gogh claims that Gauguin puts too much salt in the stew. They drink, argue, and visit prostitutes, but most of all, paint together, sharing their obsession. During the two months they produce paintings that are now acknowledged as masterpieces of modern art. The film explores to what extent this period of creativity affected them personally and whether their friendship - the last chance either has of having any kind of relationship - can survive. For the full story - click the title Irish Art