Maison du Docteur Gachet

The Maison du Docteur Gachet, awarded the French distinction of being declared a “Maison des illustres”, is located in Auvers-sur-Oise, famed as the village where Vincent van Gogh spent the last weeks of his life. On a pilgrimage following in the Post-Impressionist’s footsteps, along with the Auberge Ravoux and the tombs of Vincent and Théo van Gogh, this house is very much worth visiting, a place packed with significant memories, with a pretty garden and shaded courtyard too.

Dr Gachet, a medic and member of learned societies as well as an amateur painter and engraver, bought this country home in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1872. He set up a studio here where he could draw and practise engraving in the company of Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro. The art-loving doctor, when in Paris, would regularly meet up with thinkers, writers, painters and poets, happily providing a medical consultation in exchange for a canvas, a concert ticket or a seat at the theatre.

In 1890, at the artist Pissarro’s request, he welcomed Vincent van Gogh when the latter arrived at Auvers-sur-Oise, offering the Dutch painter his advice as a doctor specialising in psychiatry. Van Gogh would immortalise Dr Gachet in three portraits, including Le Docteur Paul Gachet on display at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Owned by the Conseil départemental du Val-d’Oise (Val-d’Oise County Council) since 1996, the Maison du Docteur Gachet has been restored, opening to the public in 2003, on the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of Van Gogh’s birth. Since then, it has held regular exhibitions evoking the life of the inquisitive, generous doctor so intrigued by the mysteries of the human psyche, as well as an artist in his own right and a great appreciator of the art of his period.

From time to time, contemporary artists now present their works here, inspired by the place, or forging links with it. Also featuring regularly on the programme in this lovely house are theatrical tours, concerts, readings and art workshops, the venue striving to remain a thriving artistic hub, keeping alive the spirit of the famed doctor.