Many immigrants from North Africa came to Arles in the 17th and 18th centuries; their influence is reflected in many of the houses of the town that were built during that period.

The "vivid colors and strong compositional outlines" of Provence led van Gogh to call the area "the Japan of the South.

Part of his difficulty in making friends was his inability to master the Provençal dialect, "whole days go by without my speaking a single word to anyone, except to order my meals or coffee."

In October 1888 Paul Gauguin came to Arles and joined van Gogh in his rented rooms at The Yellow House.

[6] Unfortunately many of the places that van Gogh had visited and painted were destroyed during bombing raids in World War II.

[11] Although some, such as Johanna van Gogh, Paul Signac and posthumous speculation by doctors Doiteau & Leroy have said that van Gogh just removed part of his earlobe and maybe a little more,[12] art historian Rita Wildegans maintains that without exception, all of the witnesses from Arles said that he removed the entire left ear.

[13] In January 1889, he returned to the Yellow House where he was living, but spent the following month between hospital and home suffering from hallucinations and delusions that he was being poisoned.

In March 1889, the police closed his house after a petition by 30 townspeople, who called him "fou roux" (the redheaded madman).

By 1986 all medical departments had vacated the buildings and the hospital became part of a restoration project to create a cultural and university center.

Architects Denis Froidevaux and Jean-Louis Tétrel, chosen for the project, preserved historic features, such as the Roman esplanade.

[23] Van Gogh's description and his painting of the garden allow for identification of its flowers, such as: blue bearded irises, forget-me-nots, oleander, pansies, primroses, and poppies.

The large study had been unattended for a while and van Gogh's interest was sparked when he read an article regarding Fyodor Dostoyevsky's book Souvenirs de la maison des morts ("Memories of the House of the Dead").

"[26] Debra Mancoff, author of Van Gogh's Flowers,[27] comments, "In his painting, Ward of Arles Hospital, the exaggerated length of the corridor and the nervous contours that delineate the figures of the patients express the emotional weight of his isolation and confinement.

[28] Rey's mother reportedly deemed the portrait “hideous” and used to close a hole in the family's chicken coop.

"[32] Both the hospital garden and ward paintings were held by Oskar Reinhart[33] from a powerful family in the banking and insurance industries.