The Van Gogh Gallery Blog

Over the weekend, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Van Gogh: Brush with Genius at a local OMNIMAX theatre.   The film by Peter Knapp and Francois Bertrand, brings to life the words and works of Van Gogh on a larger than life scale.  Narrated though the words of Van Gogh, as taken from his letters, the film tells Vincent’s story largely in his own words.

Some of the most interesting commentary was on Van Gogh’s shift from his darker early works which use little color to his later works in which he embraced color and often demonstrated the dramatic effects of using complimentary colors.  These effects became even more apparent seeing each yellow and violet brush stroke paired together on the big screen.  One such painting, besides the most obvious example, Starry Night with its vibrant yellows against violet, is the painting of the Bank of the Oise at Auvers on the left. 

Another enjoyable facet of the movie was seeing the real life places, which still exist today, where Van Gogh lived and that he captured in some of his most famous paintings.   Following his life from the early years in the Netherlands to Paris to Arles and Saint-Remy and finally to Auvers-sur-Oise, Van Gogh becomes less of a myth as you experience his homes and landscapes through viewing their present day counterparts.       

If you have the opportunity to see Van Gogh: Brush with Genius, you will have a chance to experience Van Gogh’s life and work in a way that even he could not.  If you have already seen the film, share your comments about it here.

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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Van Gogh Museum First Museum on the Continent to launch iPhone application

Van Gogh Museum Brings Artist’s Life to iPhone

 The Van Gogh Gallery is now on Facebook! Because of the high level of interest from our audience in updates and information on all things related to the life and work of Vincent van Gogh, we have created our own Facebook page. Become a fan and help us get the conversation started! Our intention is that the Van Gogh Gallery Facebook page becomes a platform for Van Gogh lovers to share discussions about favorite Van Gogh paintings, photos from trips to museums and Van Gogh sites, news about Van Gogh exhibits and more. Please join us today by becoming a fan and help build the Van Gogh Gallery community on Facebook!

Recently, a photo of Vincent van Gogh has been the topic of many discussions surrounding Van Gogh.  The photo can be seen on VanGoghFoto.com where it states that it has been proven to be a photo of Vincent van Gogh from 1886.  The photo is also in the book by Ken Wilkie The Van Gogh File, the Myth and The Man.  While there are known images of Van Gogh’s family members, there are very few of Van Gogh himself especially as an adult.  Since this is thought to be one of the few photos of Van Gogh, we would love to get your opinion about the photo and whether or not you think it resembles the likeness he captured in so many of his self portraits such as these.  Comment and share your thoughts.

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Van Gogh Foto

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We have recently added a Van Gogh video by Alexander Lukin and Alexander Chernov of the creative team LUCH to the Van Gogh Gallery.  This video takes you though many of Van Gogh’s most famous drawings which they have animated and set to the music of Thom Yorke.  If you haven’t checked out Van Gogh’s drawings in a while, viewing this video will bring them to life for you and give you a new appreciation of what it may have been like for Vincent as he was sketching each of these scenes.  If you have a favorite Van Gogh video available online, feel free to comment and share it with us!  

Related Articles:

Van Gogh Video – The Painting Dutchman

Live Painting Video – Starry Night

Vincent Video - Paintings

Vincent van Gogh was born on this day in 1853.  In honor of Van Gogh’s birthday, I thought I would share some of my favorite Van Gogh quotes:

“An artist needn’t be a clergyman or a churchwarden, but he certainly must have a warm heart for his fellow men.”

“It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to…. The feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important than the feeling for pictures.”

Read more great Van Gogh Quotes!

The Play Vincent in Brixton written by Nicholas Wright in 2002 is currently being performed again in the UK.  The play, although fictional, is based on the time Van Gogh spent in Brixton, London in 1873.  Van Gogh was only 20 years old at the time and had not yet become an artist, but was pursuing a profession as an art dealer. The play, however, focuses more on Vincent’s relationships with his landlady and her daughter and his psychological state.  I have not seen this play, but have read that it has received many good reviews and awards including a Tony award in 2003 for Best Play.  The play can be seen in several theatres in around the UK throughout the month of April. If you have seen the play, let us know what you thought – comment and share your opinion!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the new Rubens Gallery website.  The Rubens Gallery joins the Van Gogh Gallery and the Monet Gallery among the list of expanded artist galleries in the Studio of the South suite of websites devoted to master artists.  The new Rubens Gallery covers all aspects of Peter Paul Rubens’ life and works.  Read Rubens’ biography or learn about some of his most famous works including The Raising of the Cross and St. George and the Dragon.  To make the launch possible, the Rubens Gallery worked with our partners, The Net Impact, for the web design and search engine optimization of the new website.  Explore the new Rubens Gallery now!

We have recently made some significant updates to the Van Gogh Gallery to enhance the user experience for our visitors. With recommendations from Google, we have modified the custom search making it easier for you to find the information you are looking for on our site. To use our new search, simply click on any page of the site,  type your search entry into the search box at the top of the page and click search. We have also improved our Other Famous Artists section to include enhanced images within each artist biography as well as previous and next buttons at the top of each page to make browsing artists easier. To see these new features in action, go to the Other Famous Artist page, select your favorite artist and start browsing. Thank you to Unidev and The Net Impact for helping us make these changes. We are constantly looking for ways to improve the site, so if you have any recommendations for enhancements please contact us.

We are proud to announce the launch of the new C Monet Gallery website, today.  The C Monet Gallery worked with our sponsors, The Net Impact, for the web design and search engine optimization of the new website.  Just as the Van Gogh Gallery covers all aspects of Vincent van Gogh’s life and works, the C Monet Gallery offers a wealth of information on the life and work of Claude Monet.  Learn about how Monet started the Impressionist movement with Impression, Sunrise or how he captured his Water Lilies en plein air from his garden in Giverny.  Often revered for his landscapes, many of Monet’s contemporaries were impressed by his works including Van Gogh.  In a letter to his brother Theo from 1889, Van Gogh stated, “Ah, to paint figures as Claude Monet paints landscapes!”  See what Van Gogh and everyone else is talking about and view the C Monet Gallery now! 

Van Gogh Letter Source: WebExhibits.org