“Money, it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today…”
~ Pink Floyd.
September & October 1889.
Tiena and Isolda finally open the Cantina, which soon becomes a favorite hangout for the locals. While they settle into their new routine running the establishment and caring for Mara, Vincent is finally cleared to return to his bedroom and adjoining studio. Happy to be back, he immediately gets started on “Wheat Field with Cypresses.”
Emile, fresh off his rejection from Charlotte’s father, returns to Paris and visits with Theo. Ostensibly there to view Vincent’s most recent paintings, he eventually inquires if there is work for him at Theo’s firm since he’s “just scrapping by.” When Theo tells him that there’s nothing available, a despondent Emile travels to Lille and moves in with his grandmother.
Meanwhile, Gauguin is once more deeply mired in debt. After an awkward conversation with Madame Glounec regarding his outstanding bill, he escapes to Marie Henry’s inn at Le Pouldu, and later to Les Grands Sables where he rents a house with fellow artist Meijer de Haan. While there he finishes “The Yellow Christ” and “The Green Christ,” and jokes that Vincent must be rubbing off on him since he’s focused on religious themes, causing de Haan to laugh.
Later, Danior shows up unexpectedly at the Cantina finally named “Casa de Mara.” When Tiena confronts him with a loaded shotgun, he reassures her that he only came to make restitution for everything that transpired in the past. Though she doesn’t believe him, she agrees to talk.
