Admiring Auvers

Like Philip Brooker (“Impressions of Van Gogh,” Aug. 21), my daughter and I made the pilgrimage to Auvers. Unlike Brooker, we were almost the only tourists in town on a drizzly Tuesday in April. Readers may wish to consult Patty Lurie’s excellent “A Guide to the Impressionist Landscape: Day Trips From Paris” (Bulfinch Press, $16.95), which provides details on visiting a number of the favorite haunts of the French Impressionists.

BARBARA W. RAVITZ

Los Angeles

My husband and I walked every inch of Auvers last April and not a tourist was in sight. Van Gogh was the main reason for our trek, but the golden stone cottages and white lace curtains fluttering from each window afforded ingenious looks at other artists as well. Positioned along the way are posters of Pissarro, Cezanne, Corot, etc. on the spots where the paintings were executed.

We managed to get lost, in spite of the help of local farmers. Vincent’s field--so open and desolate and with such a heartbreaking history--gives one an eerie feeling. He is said to have described the immense stretches of wheat and troubled skies as having inspired him to express sorrow and solitude. Walking miles out of our way gave us an opportunity to bond with Vincent’s experience in his immortal field. One of the reasons--unforgettable--that some of us travel.

BETTY M. BRUNS

Encino