The Netherlands is one of the must-see countries in Europe. Here, among the winding water channels and hundreds of bicycle stands, some of the best museums in the world hid. Most of them are in Amsterdam - the Van Gogh Museum, Madame Tussauds, Rembrandt, the Royal Gallery and many others have collected hundreds of historical and modern art masterpieces.
In the wake of a genius
You can consider Van Gogh great, you can be crazy, but no one dares to refuse genius to him. This famous Dutch artist was born in the south of the Netherlands into the family of a pastor of a Protestant church.
He tried himself as a seller of paintings in an art gallery, abandoned this occupation, deciding to continue the work of his father's life. As a preacher, he traveled to half of Europe, studied theology at the university.
He married out of pity for a woman of easy virtue, drew about 20 self-portraits, having no money for a model, studied art in Paris, until he finally cut off his earlobe and went to treatment in a psychiatric clinic. At the age of 37, the post-impressionist artist committed suicide.
It is known that fame came to the painter after death, during his life he managed to sell only one of his many paintings. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam contains the largest collection of his works.
In memory of uncle
The history of the creation of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is as interesting and ambiguous as the personality of the artist himself. Six months after the death of the painter, his brother Theo died of depression. All the paintings, diaries and letters of Vincent were inherited by the widow of Theo.
Contrary to all the ill-wishers, young John and his baby son Willem did not part with Van Gogh's paintings, moreover, she printed a three-volume edition of his letters at her own expense.
The case of the mother continued Willem Van Gogh. To begin with, he arranged with the city museum of Amsterdam to have his uncle's paintings on display. Willem independently conducted excursions and popularized the work of Vincent, until he obtained land from the city authorities for the construction of the museum.
Project creation and construction took more than 20 years. And today, the world's most famous Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is open to the general public.
Exposition
To date, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam owns the largest collection of works by a famous painter. In the halls and storage rooms collected about 200 paintings by Vincent and about 500 drawings. The museum also houses the most extensive collection of letters by the artist - more than 800.
At the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, paintings are divided according to the chronology of the painter's work: early works, Paris, Arles, Saint-Remy-de-Provence and Auvers. Step by step, hall after hall, the history of life and the formation of the artist’s creativity from the first timid attempts to a great genius opens before us.
In addition to the works of Van Gogh himself, here you can also get acquainted with the work of his contemporaries, who had a direct impact on his formation as an artist. This is Paul Gauguin, and Georges Ser, and Paul Signac, and, of course, Claude Monet, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso.
To completely immerse himself in the work of genius, the artist’s laboratory was recreated in the museum, where he wrote most of his works.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, various thematic exhibitions are constantly held in the museum halls, a visit to which is included in the ticket price.
Japanese prints
Japan was something especially attractive to Vincent. All his life he surrounded himself with objects of Japanese culture, collecting traditional prints and mosaics, prints.
Japanese culture had a significant impact on the artist. He drew in it not only inspiration, but also stories. Vincent bought his first prints out of a whim, he tried to sell them, but when nothing came of his venture, he began to study Japanese culture in more detail.
It is believed that it was at this time that the artist became interested in the Land of the Rising Sun. Since 1888, his paintings are becoming less and less depth and at the same time becoming more intense in terms of color with clear, clear lines and decorative patterns, Vincent increasingly uses prints characteristic of a kimono as a background for his many portraits.
This collection later also became one of the assets of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Photo of the Japanese-style painting can be seen above.
Special offers
Life is quite complicated, and among us there are those who do not have access to art - these are blind and visually impaired people. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam took care of this category of citizens - the interactive tour "Van Gogh at your fingertips", specially designed for people with visual impairments, works here.
Van Gogh is known for his expressive and thick strokes, which create a special atmosphere in his works and thanks to which it is difficult to confuse with other painters. In their permanent exhibition, designed for blind and visually impaired people, museum staff relied on this particular feature of his paintings.
Visitors to this tour, along with their relatives and friends, can touch 3D reproductions of the famous series of paintings by the artist "Sunflowers". In addition, they can also study various brushes, paints, materials for creativity, which are an exact copy of Van Gogh's tools. Here, in a specially recreated workshop, visitors can smell the grass moist after rain and listen to the recordings of the artist’s voice.
Targeting young viewers
It's no secret that almost all children do not like ordinary museums - for them it is boring, boring and not at all interesting. Especially for their young visitors, the museum staff prepared an interesting game, very popular in Europe, - "Treasure Hunt".
At the information desk, the young treasure hunter will receive a special card with questions, the answers to which he will have to find in the halls of the museum, among the letters of Vincent and in his paintings.
Those treasure seekers who find all the answers will receive a small gift from the museum staff at the exit. The game is designed for children aged 6-12 years. You can get a card for free.
In addition, for 7.50 € (about 560 rubles) every weekend at the museum for children art workshops are organized where children can feel like a real Van Gogh and create their own masterpiece.
Promotions for youth
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam also hosts special events for young people. One of them is the famous “Night at the Museum”, which has already become popular in Russia, when the doors of the museum are open to everyone from 7 pm to 2 am. The next such event will take place very soon - November 3.
In addition, every Friday from 19:00 to 21:00, Vincent Fridays is held - theme parties with live music and cocktails at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Reviews of the event are always enthusiastic and every Friday the museum meets crowds of young people.
Lectures and workshops
The museum is focused not only on youth entertainment. Within its walls is a conference room where various lectures on art topics in English and Dutch are held.
Prices and opening hours
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is open to visitors daily from 9:00 to 18:00. Starting this spring, tickets can only be purchased onlain. Ticket price - 23 € (1 700 rubles), for children under 18 years old admission is free. The price also includes an audio guide in 10 languages, including Russian, English, German, Dutch and French.
For Vincent Friends, Rembrandt Card and Amsterdam city cardholders, admission is free.
Anyone can become Vincent's friend - just register on the site and pay 75 € (5, 600 rubles) annually to the museum fund. The card guarantees free admission to almost all museums in Amsterdam, as well as invitations to various kinds of private events.
