The Van Gogh Gallery Blog

A new application for the iPhone called “Yours, Vincent” is now available for Van Gogh fans to download.  The application takes iPhone users through selected accounts from Vincent van Gogh’s letters along with accompanying images of his works.  The app was developed to go along with the exhibit “Van Gogh’s Letters: The Artist Speaks” which opens today and will run through January 3, 2010 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  Created by the Van Gogh Museum in collaboration with Antenna Audio, the application is one of the first of its kind developed by a European museum.  This new application is available for free from the iTunes App Store.

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If you have the opportunity, the best way to experience Van Gogh’s masterpieces is up close and in person. A number of years ago I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Before visiting I had an appreciation for Van Gogh. I knew all the crowd-pleasers like Starry Night, Sunflowers, and Café Terrace on the Place du Forum. I had read Irving Stone’s Lust for Life and became interested in Van Gogh’s life. But, it was not until experiencing the Van Gogh Museum that I could really appreciate the breadth of his work and the story of his life.

The Van Gogh Museum is home to over 200 Van Gogh paintings as well as many of his drawings and letters. This is the largest collection of Van Gogh works anywhere in the world. See works like The Potato Eaters, Almond Blossom, Irises and The Bedroom. Although the museum itself is more modern than other nearby museums like the Rijksmuseum, also located on the Museumplein, you will feel as though you are transported back to Van Gogh’s time as he tells you his story in his words while you peruse letters handwritten by Van Gogh. You will be taken aback when you realize that this multistory building is houses mainly one man’s work, and when you see his use of color and brushstrokes in person it is awe-inspiring.

While the museum is mainly covers Van Gogh, it also hosts works by other artists like Gauguin, Monet, Pissarro, Seurat, and other artists of the 19th century as well as temporary exhibitions of other artist’s work. Opening on the 18th is an exhibit of Belgian artist Alfred Stevens’ work. If you have stories or photos from your trip to the Van Gogh Museum that you would like to add, please share your comments.

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With interest growing in the Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night exhibit, posted on earlier, I wanted to bring you more on this event especially if you won’t have the opportunity to see it in person.  Earlier this week I was contacted by ArtInfo.com about a recent podcast they released called Van Gogh: Painting the Night.  The podcast features expert commentary on the night themes in Van Gogh’s work from leading Van Gogh authorities including the curators of the Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night exhibit.  In addition, excerpts read from Van Gogh’s letters allow Vincent to speak to his use of these motifs as well.  Listen to the experts’ analysis along with insight from Van Gogh himself, in Van Gogh: Painting the Night now! 

In collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Modern Art in New York has a special exhibition on display called Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night.   The limited engagement exhibit opened yesterday and will run until January 5, 2009.  Including some of his most famous works, both indoor scenes and outdoor landscapes, the exhibit features paintings, drawing and letters which capture the light and the vision with which Van Gogh saw the world at night.  For more information on this exhibition or lectures and other events related to this exhibit, visit MOMA.  Not going to be in the New York area to see this exhibit in person?  View the online Van Gogh exhibit.

If you are in Amsterdam, or visiting other areas of The Netherlands this summer, you may want to take the train down to Zundert to see The Vincent van GoghHuis.  The Vincent van GoghHuis Zundert will open on August 29, 2008 with a permanent exhibition “Vincent van Gogh: Roots of a Master” which covers the life of Van Gogh beginning in his birthplace Zundert. The Vincent van GoghHuis will also feature a temporary exhibition “Zadkine & Van Gogh” from September 2008 to January 2009.  If you would like more information about The Vincent van GoghHuis, or other places to tour which follow Van Gogh’s life in his footsteps learn more about Van Gogh travel.

The first major Van Gogh exhibit, “Voyage into the Myth,” to come to the Seoul Museum of Art drew a large audience.  Museum visitors flocked to see some of Van Gogh’s early works including paintings, drawings and sketches.  Irises and Sower were some of the 45 paintings included in the exhibit.  This exhibit was the first retrospective Van Gogh Exhibit to take place in Korea.  For more on this exhibit please click here.

One of van Gogh’s major influences, John Everett Millais, will have his work displayed at the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands until May 18.  Featured in the exhibit will be atmospheric landscapes that made an impact on van Gogh.  For more information on the exhibit, visit artxworld.com or vangoghmuseum.nl.