Celebrating 125 years of vincent van gogh in europe this summer

3­8­2015

Celebrating 125 years of Vincent Van Gogh in Europe this summer

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Celebrating 125 years of Vincent Van Gogh in Europe this summer

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Jul, 2015

by Staff Reporter in LIFESTYLE

Vincent van Gogh died 125 years ago, on 29 July 1890. The Dutch artist sold only one of his 860 oil paintings while he was alive but, subsequently, has become one of the world’s most influential and most sought-after painters.

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In 1990, a century on from his death – the result of a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest, fired on 27 July 1890 – one of Van Gogh’s paintings sold for $82.5 million. It was a portrait of Dr Gachet, the man who treated the artist for psychiatric illness at Auvers-sur-Oise in southern France, the region where Van Gogh spent the final two years of life.

This year, 30 of Europe’s leading art museums are commemorating the artist’s life and works as part of the Van Gogh 2015 – 125 years of inspiration project. The participating institutions are located in the Netherlands, Belgium and France: all countries in which Van Gogh lived and worked. The project celebrates the Van Gogh’s innovation, ideas and way of seeing the world.

If you’re interested in viewing the opus of the red haired man that many today regard a genius then it’s worth visiting the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. It’s there that you can see iconic works such as Sunflowers, one of the series he painted at Arles in 1889, and The Bedroom, depicting his simple room in what was known ‘the yellow house’.

The Van Gogh Museum is the home to the planet’s largest permanent collection of work by the Posthttp://www.thesouthafrican.com/celebrating­125­years­of­vincent­van­gogh­in­europe­this­summer/

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3­8­2015

Celebrating 125 years of Vincent Van Gogh in Europe this summer

Impressionist, including the dramatic Wheatfield with Crows, which for a time was regarded his last painting.

You’ll also see a number of self-portraits – paintings which meant Vincent did not need to spend money on models.

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One of Van Gogh’s self portraits. Photo by Stuart Forster.

Many people underestimate the prolific artist’s written output. He penned more than 800 letters, many of which were to his brother Theo. They provide us with a good idea about his life and how he saw the world.

Until 17 January 2016 the exhibition When I Give, I Give Myself will run at the Van Gogh Museum. In it the responses of 23 contemporary artists to works by Van Gogh are placed on display.

The Kröller-Müller Museum – in Hoge Veluwe National Park, between Arnhem and Apeldoorn – houses the world’s second largest collection of Van Gogh’s work. Until 27 September 50 of those paintings and drawings will be displayed alongside works by other artists in the Van Gogh & Co. Criss-crossing the Collection exhibition, part of the 125 years of inspiration project. Additionally, events including concerts, bicycle rides and food tastings are taking place over the coming weeks, under the aegis of the A Summer with Van Gogh series.

Helene Kröller-Müller began collecting the Vincent’s works early in the last century, purchasing her first Edge of a Wood, painted in 1883, for just 110 guilders. The collection she put together includes works such as Terrace of a Café at Night, The Sower plus one of The Potato Eaters, depicting a peasant family dining together. It was painted in the village of Nuenen, close to Eindhoven, in 1885. It is regarded as his first masterpiece.

Since then Nuenen has expanded to a small town with over 20,000 inhabitants yet signs by the roadside continue to proclaim it the ‘Van Gogh Village’.

At the Vincentre, which opened during 2010 in Nuenen’s former town hall, you can gain an overview of the artist’s life story, told with the aid of multilingual audio-guides. It conveys how Vincent’s time in the village, from 1883 to 1885, was key to the evolution of his personal style of painting and philosophy on how to portray peasant life.

You can also join a guided walking tour of Nuenen to see sites where Van Gogh painted. The vicarage, in which he lived with his parents, still stands. So too does the neighbouring house, Nune Ville, in which Vincent’s sweetheart Margot Begemann resided. Unfortunately their love was doomed but the house where she lived is currently hosting The Vincent Affair, an exhibition which runs until 1 October. Designers and contemporary artists have been invited to creatively transform rooms, inspired by Van Gogh’s free thinking.

‘The Vincent Affair’ exhibition runs until 1 October 2015. Photo by Stuart Forster.

On the edge of Nuenen, running between two of the watermills painted by Vincent, you can view the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path, which opened last November. Daan Roosegaarde designed the path, which incorporates swirls of luminous material in its surface, inspired by the painting The Starry Night. Solar energy charges lamps alongside the path. Their level slowly rises and falls. http://www.thesouthafrican.com/celebrating­125­years­of­vincent­van­gogh­in­europe­this­summer/

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3­8­2015

Celebrating 125 years of Vincent Van Gogh in Europe this summer

The Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path, which opened last November.

Photo by Stuart Forster.

The section of path is part of the Van Gogh Cycle Route, a 335km long network, linking places in North Brabant associated with the artist’s life. The points of interest include his birth house at Zundert, close to Tilburg, where he entered the world in 1853.

The Noordbrabants Museum, in the city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, is the only place within the province of his birth where you can see paintings by Vincent van Gogh permanently on display. From October, the museum will also host two Van Gogh inspired exhibitions.

The Noordbrabants Museum. Photo by Stuart Forster.

Some sources suggest the artist’s last words were “the sadness will last forever.” Perhaps the inspiration Vincent van Gogh continues to bring us will last forever?

Further Information Visit the Van Gogh Europe and Holland Tourism websites for further inspiration.

Take the train from London to destinations in the Netherlands. See Voyages SNCF Travel Centre, 193 Piccadilly, London W1 9EU; 0844 848 5848) for ticketing information.

Written by Stuart Forster

Staff Reporter More articles by Staff Reporter

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