Van Gogh painted three authentic versions of The Bedroom, the intimate composition depicting his room in the Yellow House at Arles. He began the first version in October 1888.
The original is in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. After it was damaged by flooding from the Rhône while Van Gogh was hospitalized, he made a second, full-size repetition in September 1889. That version is held by the Art Institute of Chicago.
Van Gogh then created a smaller third version for his mother and sister Wil. It was completed in late September 1889 and is now in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The three versions are similar but not identical; the small pictures hanging on the wall differ, making them easier to distinguish.
The title can cause confusion because Van Gogh called the composition simply The Bedroom, while museums and reference books often use Bedroom in Arles. The count of three refers to the recognized authentic painted versions, not preparatory sketches, reproductions, or later artworks inspired by it.