A furious neighbour row has erupted after a couple were left fighting with their local village mayor over a set of roots in their garden.
Jean-François and Hélène Serlinger are the owners of 48 Rue Daubigny in Auvers-sur-Oise, which features a set of 350-year-old roots belonging to "false acacia" trees.
In 2020, art historians pinpointed the roots as the likely inspiration for "Tree Roots", Van Gogh’s final painting before his death in July 1890.
Administrative law judges have now all but stopped a four-year campaign by Auvers mayor Isabelle Mézières to bring the site, around 40km north west of Paris, into public ownership.
Wouter van der Veen, of the Van Gogh Institute verified the roots
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Tree Roots in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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Mézières had taken to social media, accusing the couple of attempting to make money and deprive the public of the artist's heritage.
She also highlighted a wooden palisade erected by the Institut Van Gogh, based in Auvers, later labelling the couple "really disrespectful, shameless people".
In response, Jean-François, a 68-year-old retired tax inspector, said he could not understand why the mayor had run such a fierce campaign against them, adding that they wanted to develop the site as part of the Van Gogh pilgrimage trail which sees thousands of art fans flocking to the village every year.
He told The Times: "It’s Van Gogh. The roots drive people mad...It’s about the desire to possess."
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General view of the alleged spot where Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh painted his last canvas before his mysterious death from a gunshot wound
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Van Gough, widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time, was said to have painted the roots in the village, just hours before he shot himself in the chest in a nearby wheat field.
After staggering to his room in the Auberge Ravoux, he died on July 29, 1890, with his brother Theo at his bedside.
The property, which was purchased by the Serlingers in 1996, was validated as the site by Wouter van der Veen, scientific director of the Institut Van Gogh.
The couple offer 30-minute tours of the garden to art fans who travel to the site to pay their respects to the Dutch artist.
A picture taken on July 29, 2020 shows a poster reproducing last painting of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, in Auvers-sur-Oise
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Reacting to the court's rejection of the council case, Jean-François said he and his wife were "very happy that at last it’s over".
He added: "Things are clear and justice has been done.
“We’re going to devote our energy now to protecting the site, taking care of it and opening to the public. This story is behind us.”
Mézières did not comment but council lawyer Michel Gentilhomme said the conflict may not be over.
Gentilhomme told local media the mayor is reportedly considering an appeal to the cour de cassation, the supreme court, which rules only on points of law.
