That Chair.

We all know the painting, but Van Gogh's actual chair will also be familiar to anyone who has lived in, or stayed in, France for any length of time. It is of a style as familiar here as the 'Wheelback' is in the UK.

These chairs were made throughout France by itinerant workers. Whereas the travelling community in England sold clothes pegs and white heather, here in France they made chairs. However, they were never as chunky as VG painted his.

The 'Gypsies' would turn-up at a house, ask if they needed any chairs, then if the answer was 'yes' they would go to the woods and chop down a few coppiced trees. Usually they were made from Chestnut wood. If there were reeds handy, the chair would have rush seating, as with Van Gogh's chair. If not they would have a seat woven from thin strips of Chestnut (as below). 

We had a few of these old chairs hanging around in outbuildings, etc; most of which needed re-seating. The roughly hewn pieces of wood still show signs of being entirely hand made.

We took them to a riverside spot where we knew there was a 'Gypsy' encampment, and they did what we wanted for a very reasonable price. That was probably 40 years ago, and they're still serviceable.

I don't suppose many people care for these old chairs any more. They are rustic, poorly made, and old fashioned. An Ikea chair would be much more acceptable these days. However, the one above lives in my bedroom, and is still in constant use. 

I suppose it would have been nicer with a rush seat, like Vincent's.