Vincent van Gogh’s Prisoners Exercising: expressionism at its most despondent

The Dutch master depicts his fragile state of mind, trapped and unable to escape routine

Going down …

This 1890 work needs little explanation. Painted while Van Gogh was heavily depressed and in an asylum in Saint-Rémy, it is expressionism at its most downcast.

Right round …

The circular trudge of the watched-over men so perfectly captures the mental rat runs the artist felt trapped in; you can almost hear the shuffle-thump of those boots.

London calling …

It is directly inspired by a depiction of Newgate exercise yard by one of Van Gogh’s favourite artists, the London-based print-maker Gustave Doré, who recreated the city with a Dickensian sweep in the collection London: A Pilgrimage.

Colour me bad …

Doré’s black and white engraving plunges the men into shadow at the bottom of seemingly endless walls, with white sunlight anointing their heads. In Van Gogh’s version, the blues and golds blaze and pulse. Is it redemption or the intense feelings of mental illness?

Looking at you …

The central figure with Van Gogh’s red hair raises his head to reveal a sickly, green-tinged face.

Van Gogh and Britain, Tate Britain, SW1, to 11 August

This article was amended on 9 May 2019. An assertion that Van Gogh is the painting’s central figure has been qualified. And while Gustave Doré worked regularly in London, a reference to it being “his adopted city” has been removed.

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