Its windows are boarded up, the red-painted exterior is peeling and the roof could do with re-tiling -- but this derelict house in a village in the Borinage region of Belgium was once the home of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.
The house and surrounding industrial area, in the village of Petit Wasmes, might not look too impressive, but it was here that Van Gogh decided to become an artist.
Now local authorities have agreed a deal with the owner of the house to rent it for 27 years, with the aim of turning it into a museum and possibly a guest-house, in time for the city's partnership with neighboring Mons, the European Capital of Culture in 2015.
An exhibition covering Van Gogh's time in the region is planned for the Mons Museum of Fine Arts, while a documentary exploring the artist's life as an evangelical preacher among the mining community there is also in the works, with the house sure to feature.
"There is [currently] no one living in the house," said Gregory Dufert, a spokesperson for the municipality of Colfontaine. "You have four walls, you have something that looks like a roof and that's it.... Source/Origin >> Read More
