Vincent van Gogh
Vincent arrived unannounced from Antwerp in March 1886 and moved into Theo's flat on what was then the rue de Laval. It was too small to paint in, and by June the brothers had taken the larger apartment on the rue Lepic.
25 rue Victor-Massé
Still standing
Outside only
Someone else
Theo van Gogh's small flat, where Vincent turned up unannounced from Antwerp in March 1886. It was too cramped to paint in, which is why the brothers moved to the rue Lepic three months later.
- 25 rue Victor-Massé, 75009 Paris
- Theo van Gogh's flat; Vincent joined him here in March 1886
The place, briefly
In March 1886 Vincent van Gogh arrived in Paris without warning. He had been in Antwerp, had left the academy there, and simply appeared — reportedly sending Theo a note to come and meet him at the Louvre. Theo, who worked as a gallery manager and was already supporting his brother financially, took him in at this address on what was then the rue de Laval.
It did not work for long. The flat was too small for two men and a painter's practice, and by June they had taken a larger apartment further up the hill at 54 rue Lepic, where Vincent could actually work.
The street is worth pausing on for its own sake. In the 1880s it also held the studio of Edgar Degas at number 37, a couple of minutes' walk up the same pavement — two of the most consequential painters of the century on one short street in the 9th, at the same moment, almost certainly passing each other without particular ceremony.
The building stands, with shops at street level. It is private.
Key facts
- Theo van Gogh's
- March 1886, unannounced from Antwerp
- About three months, until the move to the rue Lepic in June
- Too small for Vincent to paint in
- rue de Laval
- Private building — exterior only
Timeline
Vincent arrives from Antwerp in March and moves in with Theo.
The brothers move to 54 rue Lepic in June.
On the map
Questions before you go
Where did Van Gogh first stay in Paris?
At his brother Theo's flat, 25 rue Victor-Massé — then the rue de Laval — from March 1886. They moved to the rue Lepic in June because this one was too small to paint in.
Did Van Gogh and Degas know each other?
There is no documented friendship. But Degas's studio was a few doors up the same street in the same years, which is a striking coincidence of address.
People who knew this place
Within walking distance
4 rue Frochot
The studio and apartment Edgar Degas settled into in 1877 — the year he was showing the ballet and café pictures that made his name, a few steps from the place Pigalle.
Visit the place37 rue Victor-Massé
The apartment and studio where Edgar Degas worked for the last quarter-century of his career, on a street then called the rue de Laval. Paul Valéry was brought here to meet him in 1896. Degas was evicted in 1912 and never really worked again.
Visit the place5 rue Victor-Massé
The apartment the young Stefan Zweig rented below Pigalle from November 1904 to June 1905 — the Paris year that runs through The World of Yesterday, on the same street where Degas kept his studio.
Visit the placeCafé de la Nouvelle Athènes
The café on the place Pigalle that took over from the Guerbois as the meeting place of Manet, Degas and their circle in the 1870s — and the room behind the painting usually called L'Absinthe.
Visit the placeThe Friday Letter
Paris, one address at a time.
The cafés, studios, and walk-up flats where the work was made — one story from the map in every letter.