Researchers paired an antique postcard with the very last painting made by Vincent Van Gogh before his untimely death. Careful study of the tree roots and rocks clinched it. This was the exact spot he painted from on that fateful day—Rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise, 20 miles north of Paris.
Read more on ArtNet News: How an Old Postcard Led Art Historians to the Spot Where a Distraught Van Gogh Made His Final Painting
Very interesting...this reminds me of the classic book Cezanne's Composition by Earl Loran, in which the sites of many of Cezanne's paintings were photographed about 20 years after the artist's death, from the very spot where he stood. I'm also surprised by how accurate van Gogh's painting is (assuming it wasn't doctored to match the postcard). I don't think of van Gogh as someone who would have strived for accuracy, but the tree trunks line up with the real ones almost spot on.
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