Information
During van Gogh’s brief spell as a teacher at a school in Ramsgate in 1876, he still tried to indulge his love of nature and sea air as much as possible, seeking permission to take the pupils out for walks in the stormiest weather. One walk he took to nearby Pegwell Bay, with its flat, windswept coastline, must have reminded him of his native Holland, and his painter’s eye observed the effect of the fading light.
Quotations
From a letter to his brother Theo.
Ramsgate 28th
April 1876
Now I am going to tell you about a walk we took yesterday. It was to an inlet of the sea, and the road there led through fields of young corn and along hedges of hawthorn, etc. Once there, we saw to our left a steep two-story-high ridge of sand and stone. On top of it were old gnarled hawthorn bushes – their black and gray moss-covered stems and branches were all bent to one side by the wind; there were also a few elder bushes.The ground we walked on was all covered with big gray stones, chalk and shells. To the right lay the sea as calm as a pond, reflecting the light of the transparent gray sky where the sun was setting. The tide was out and the water very low.
Place | Extract |
| Pegwell Bay | During van Gogh’s brief spell as a teacher at a school in Ramsgate in 1876, he still tried to indulge his love of nature and sea air as much as possible, seeking permission to take the pupils out for walks in the stormiest weather... |
| Ramsgate | He seems to have enjoyed his time; his letters to his brother Theo speak of building sandcastles with the pupils and exhilarating walks in the strong wind... |
