Art Talk: Van Gogh Museum Highlight Tour

Vincent Van Gogh
Close up of Wheatfield with Crows, 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Potato Eaters

Potato Eaters, 1885

Vincent started painting in 1880 at the age of 27. Five years into painting he really wanted to prove he could do figure painting. He was very proud of this difficult subject and composition and wrote to his sister saying

What I think about my own work is that the painting of the peasants eating potatoes that I did in Nuenen is after all the best thing I did".

It is a very dark and enclosed picture which is very different from his later work where he does many colorful landscapes.

Montmarte: Behind the Moulin de la Galette

This painting was completed 1887 while Vincent was living in Paris with his brother Theo.

Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat

One of Vincent's most used model was himself. He is known to have created 43 self-portraits between 1885 and 1889.

Here we see him using very distinct brushstrokes that give as sense of movement around his head. 1887 is a year after the birth of pointillism in Paris, which he would have been exposed.

There are also very strong elements of impressionism with the colors combing to give the impression of the hat, beard, coat, etc. Impressionism was also birthed in France in 1872, 15 years before.

Self Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1887

Garden of the Asylum

Close up of Garden of the Asylum, 1889

Vincent was in the Saint-Rémy asylum from May 1889 – May 1890 and during that time painted many pictures, including this one.

The tour guide talked about how Vincent felt an affinity to this tree. That it also had troubles, like Vincent himself.

You can see that the tree is outlined in black giving it distinction and prominence in this garden scene.

Sunflowers

Speaking of the Sunflowers painting the tour guide called it something akin to the museum's "pride and joy".

It is a wonderful painting that uses so many different shades of yellow and still maintains a very interesting and vibrant still life.

This was also painted during Vincent's time in Saint-Rémy. His most famous work Starry Night was painted during this time.

Sunflowers, 1889

Almond Blossoms

Almond Blossoms was painted in 1890. It is reported that after the birth of his nephew, Van Gogh wrote, "I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky."

The nephew was Vincent Willem (named after Vincent). He went on to found the Van Gogh Museum.

This is something that I would hang in my house. I really like the blues and whites and the simplicity of the theme.

Wheatfield with Crows

Out of all the pictures I saw on the tour the Wheatfield with Crows, 1890 was the most impressive to me. The colors and brush strokes were both stunning.

Tree Roots

Tree Roots, 1890

Tree Roots was painted July 1890 and Vincent died July 27, 1890. Some think it is the last work he did and the fact that it is unfinished helps those claims.

It was very chaotic and when I saw it I wouldn't have thought that it was painted by Vincent. I think if was not his last picture it wouldn't have been on a highlight tour.

I am a big fan of tours in museums. Painting are great to look at and when you add knowledge about the painting or artist then they have so much more meaning and depth. This was a good tour and well worth the extra 5 EUR.

Sources:
Vincent Van Gogh
The Potato Eaters- Van Gogh Museum
The Potato Eaters- Wikipedia
Pointillism
Sunflowers- Van Goh Museum
Almond Bloosms