The Van Gogh Gallery Blog

At the end of his life, Van Gogh was living in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, in France and staying in a small upstairs room at the Ravoux Inn.  The Inn was owned and operated by the Ravoux family who had a daughter named Adeline.  Adeline was a young girl when Vincent was living at the Ravoux Inn, but at the age of 76 she wrote a memoir of Van Gogh’s stay and the impression it made on her at a young age.  Her fascinating account gives a very detailed depiction of Vincent at the end of his life.  The following quotes are from this memoir. 

“He was a man of good build, one shoulder slightly leaning on the side of his wounded ear, a very penetrating glance, gentle and calm, but not a very communicative character. When one spoke to him, he always replied with an agreeable smile.”

When commenting on the portrait that Van Gogh did of her Adeline said,

“I did not see a resemblance. Nevertheless, last year, someone who came to see me to talk about Van Gogh: the first time that they met me they recognized me from this portrait that Vincent had done and added: “This is not the youthful girl that you were that Vincent saw, but the woman that you would become.” Neither of my parents really appreciated this painting, nor did anyone else that saw it then. At this time very few people understood the paintings of Van Gogh.”

Read her full account here including Adeline’s record of Vincent’s final days.

We are thrilled to announce the launch our new Van Gogh Gallery Store!   Now not only is the Van Gogh Gallery the place to find information about Van Gogh’s life and works, but now we are pleased to be bringing our visitors an extensive selection of Van Gogh prints in our Van Gogh collection.  We have received countless emails over the years asking where to find particular Van Gogh prints, so we wanted to be able to bring a wide selection of prints directly to our visitors from our site.  The new Van Gogh Gallery store is organized for easy browsing with categories for Van Gogh Florals, Van Gogh Landscapes, Van Gogh Portraits, Starry Night Prints and Post Impressionism.  In addition to the Van Gogh collection available on the store, there are works by many other famous artists to fit any décor or style.   From the works of Klimt, Picasso and Dali to Vintage art, Modern and Pop art prints, we are happy to offer our visitors many fine art works that are ideal for framing or transferring to canvas to compliment your personal taste.

Start Shopping for Art Prints

Van Gogh completed almost 900 paintings in the span of less than ten years.  During this time it is incredible to look at how quickly his style and his works evolved.  From dark still life paintings to colorful Post Impressionistic works, it is evident that Van Gogh worked hard to refine his technique and grow as an artist.  Below are some of Van Gogh’s earliest paintings shown along with some of his last works.

Still Life with Cabbage and Clogs – November – late month to mid December, 1881
Still Life with Beer Mug and Fruit – December, 1881
Wheatfield with Crows – July, 1890
Wheatfields at Auvers Under Clouded Sky – July, 1890

With spring in the air and flowers starting to bloom, I am reminded of some of the paintings that Van Gogh did of flowers.  His Irises and Sunflowers of course are favorites and are among his most famous paintings.  However, I would like to focus more on some of his other works – the paintings he did of entire gardens.  Although Van Gogh, unlike Monet, was not famous for a garden of his own, he did make other’s gardens famous. Capturing all of the colors and the beauty of each setting, Van Gogh painted many different gardens each timeless and yet frozen in time never to wilt with the passing of the season.   Below are some of these gardens painted in the last two years of his life.

Van Gogh has influenced countless artists over the years.  During his time, he greatly influenced other major artists like Gauguin as well as other Impressionists and Post Impressionists.   Today, Van Gogh is still impacting artists all over the world.  We recently posted new featured artists Okke Weerstand and Geert Weerstand, both inspired by Van Gogh, to our Van Gogh’s Impact on Art section. 

Okke Weerstand began his Van Gogh inspired sculptures in June of 2009 when he made a bust of Vincent van Gogh (after his last self-portrait in 1889) in bronze. The work was commissioned by his uncle Geert Weerstand who has a permanent exhibition of about 75 works in stone and glass inspired by Van Gogh.  This sculpture was just the beginning of a series of incredible bronze sculptures by Okke Weerstand inspired by the paintings and drawings of Van Gogh.

Inspired by the art of Vincent van Gogh, Geert Weerstand opened a permanent exhibition of Van Gogh inspired works in the basement of his home in Urk, The Netherlands in May of 2009.  Geert’s works, which are all two dimensional, are made of a combination of colored glass, ceramics and (sandblasted) freestone inspired by and created after many of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings and drawings. Geert continues to make new works for the exhibition today. In addition to his works, he also has several sculptures on display which are part of his permanent exhibition created by his nephew Okke Weerstand.

See more of Okke Weerstand – Van Gogh in Bronze or Geert Weerstand – Van Gogh in Stone.

A “new” Van Gogh painting was announced in The Netherlands today.  Despite the huge body of work that Van Gogh produced and the number of claims to Van Gogh discoveries that have been made, it is extremely rare that a new Van Gogh is actually authenticated.  This and the fact that the late Dirk Hannema, art collector and curator, had been trying to prove the painting’s authenticity since 1975, makes the painting, Le Blute-Fin Mill, an extraordinary discovery.  As the first Van Gogh to be authenticated since 1995, Le Blute-Fin Mill has the art world buzzing. 

The painting, which went on display today at the Museum de Fundatie in the town of Zwolle, The Netherlands, features a large windmill, a popular subject for Van Gogh’s Parisian paintings from 1886.  In fact, Van Gogh’s Le Moulin de Blute-Fin shows the same mill from a different angle. 

The exhibition “The Discovery – Vincent van Gogh’s De Mole ‘Le blute-fin’ in the collection of Museum de Fundatie containing the work will be on display until July 4, 2010.   To view the newly authenticated painting click the Museum de Fundatie link below.

Related Sites:

Museum de Fundatie

Planning on being in London this spring?  If so, you should enter The Real Van Gogh: The artist and his letters contest. We are currently running a contest in cooperation with The Royal Academy of Arts in London to win a pair of exhibition tickets for The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters.

This landmark exhibition of the work of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) opened at The Royal Academy of Arts on January 23 and will run until April 18. The focus of the exhibition is the artist’s remarkable correspondence, with over 35 original letters on display in the main galleries of Burlington House, together with around 65 paintings and 30 drawings. The exhibition will offer a unique opportunity to gain an insight into the complex mind of Vincent van Gogh.

For the chance to win a pair of exhibition tickets simply email your name to competitions@royalacademy.org.uk with Van Gogh Gallery in the subject box. Prize drawn on 26 February. Judges’ decision is final.

For more information about the exhibit please see The Royal Academy of Arts.

Related Articles:

The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters Exhibition

Happy New Year and thank you for helping support our site to make 2009 an excellent year!  We have had a lot of great feedback from Van Gogh Gallery visitors in the form of blog comments and email messages.  We appreciate all of your input on the site and our blog.  We are also thrilled to have had such an impressive response on our Van Gogh Gallery Facebook page.  We are on track to reach 1,000 fans by the end of 2009, and we value the comments and insights our fans share with us and the Van Gogh community on Facebook everyday!  If you haven’t had a chance to join this community, become a fan today and be a part of the on-going conversation covering everything Van Gogh.  Happy New Year and here’s to an exciting 2010!

Related Articles:

Van Gogh Gallery on Facebook

Thank You Van Gogh Gallery Visitors

Although Van Gogh preferred the French countryside to the congested streets of Paris, he did live in Paris for a short time with his brother Theo at number 54 Rue Lepic in Montmartre. The art community was active at the time in 1874-75 and the Impressionists, or the grands boulevards artists as they were referred to, often gathered together there for exhibitions. Van Gogh was inspired by works in museums of Paris as well as the works of his contemporaries. Surrounded by Impressionists as well as the up and coming Pointillists, Van Gogh observed the works of other artists and drew from their techniques in the continual development of his style.

It is surprising the number of artists who have lived in Paris at one time or another in their lives. The neighborhood of Montmartre especially has attracted a multitude of famous artists including Renoir and Picasso as well as unknown artists. During the same time that Van Gogh lived in Montmartre, Edgar Degas lived a few doors down on Rue Lepic and Toulouse-Lautrec lived around the corner.

Today the art community is still alive in Montmartre. Visitors can sit and have their portraits painted in a matter of minutes, or do as Van Gogh did and observe the works of other artists. There are even walks and tours which take you by some of the places where these great artists like Van Gogh once lived and created their masterpieces.

Related Articles:

Van Gogh Goes Home

The Other Van Gogh

About Renoir’s Home in Montmartre

Rarely, since the time that they were created, has a large collection of Van Gogh’s original letters and his corresponding works been seen together.  But in January of 2010, the main galleries of Burlington House, the Royal Academy of Arts will be host to an exhibition of over 35 original Van Gogh letters and about 65 paintings and 30 drawings relating to the letters on display.  As the first major Van Gogh exhibition in London in over forty years, The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, will be a monumental event for Van Gogh admirers.

Van Gogh is widely known for his prolific and extraordinary work as an artist, but his expression in the written word is also impressive.  When analyzing different works of art, art historians and appreciators try to uncover meaning in the work itself, but it is rare that the intent, motivation and perception can be drawn directly from the words of the artist himself especially posthumously.  Such an accurate record of one man’s work, life and time in history is hard to find, and we are privileged to have this account preserved for the public to view today.

This exhibition will not only show some of the finished paintings and drawings referred to in Van Gogh’s correspondence to his greatest confidants, visitors will also see the letter sketches of works in progress to get a more complete  picture of the man behind the brush and the pen and his development both as an artist and a person. 

According to the Royal Academy of Arts, “Highlights of the exhibition will include Self-portrait as an Artist (1888) and The Yellow House (1888) from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; Still-life: Drawing Board with Onions (1889) from the Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo; Vincent’s Chair with His Pipe (1888) from the National Gallery, London; and Entrance to the Public Park in Arles (1888) from the Phillips Collection, Washington DC.”

The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters Exhibition is curated by Ann Dumas of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.  The exhibit is sponsored by the Bank of New York Mellon.

For tickets and information about The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters please visit the Royal Academy of Arts.

In cooperation with the Royal Academy of Arts, the Van Gogh Gallery will be having a contest to win tickets to this exhibition.  Please continue to check the Van Gogh Gallery website for more details over the next few weeks.

Vincent Van Gogh. Self Portrait as a Painter. 1887 - 1888. Oil on canvas. 65.2 x 50.2 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)