The Van Gogh Gallery Blog

The summer is the perfect time to get out of the heat and take in some culture at a local museum.   Fortunately, for Van Gogh lovers his works can be seen in museums all over the world.  The largest collections can be found in The Netherlands including famous works like The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers and Almond Blossom.  The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo have the largest collections.  Travel to Paris and see more of Van Gogh’s masterpieces like Starry Night Over the Rhone at the Musée d’Orsay or La Mousmé, Sitting at the Louvre.   In London both the National Gallery and the Tate Modern have works by Van Gogh.

In New York, you can see Van Gogh’s Starry Night in person at the Museum of Modern Art or see several of his other paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.   If you are in Chicago the Art Institute of Chicago has several impressive Van Gogh pieces including The Bedroom.  

And no matter where you are you can always view Van Gogh’s masterpieces by going to the Van Gogh Gallery catalog and filter by city, state, country or museum name to find the Van Goghs closest to you or just browse them online.

Van Gogh’s paintings can be seen in museums and galleries all over the world, and while there really is no comparison for seeing his brushstrokes up close and in person, it is amazing how many excellent virtual Van Gogh displays exist online. Virtual tours have improved over the years now offering the viewer an ever greater perspective of the object and its surroundings. In this virtual tour of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, you can see many of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and the works hanging alongside of them all from the comfort of your computer. If you prefer to travel online to Paris a virtual tour of the Musee d’Orsay will take you the Van Gogh collection there.

If you would rather avoid the sometimes dizzying effects of the virtual tour, check out some of the interactive exhibitions online such as the “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” exhibition which took place a couple of years ago at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, but continues to display online. There are also a selection of videos on Van Gogh’s works and research on the Van Gogh channel on Art Babble. So if you want to experience the works of Van Gogh, but can’t make it to the museum, a Van Gogh tour may just be a click away.

Now is the perfect time to start planning your Van Gogh tour for next spring or summer.  There are many tour companies which offer bike tours of Van Gogh country in France and The Netherlands.  You can also rent bikes and plan your own tour in the steps of Van Gogh.  If cycling is not for you, many of the historic Van Gogh sites are easily accessible on foot or by car.  Catch dinner in Van Gogh’s last home at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, see the Irises outside of the Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, or sip coffee at the Café Terrace on the Place du Forum (pictured on the left), now named Café Van Gogh, in Arles.  Explore the beautiful countryside, and take in the historic sites that have been captured in some of Van Gogh’s most famous works.  Have you already toured the Van Gogh sites in Europe?  Comment and share your experiences or become a fan of Van Gogh Gallery on Facebook and share your Van Gogh tour photos with us.

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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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