So, one of the museums that I really wanted to go to in Amsterdam was the Vincent van Gogh museum, and I did indeed go there. It necessitated getting up bright and early in order to be in line before the door opened. I'd read that advice in a travel book and intended to follow it. Good thing, too, because there was already a line when I got there half an hour early, and after actually getting in it was super busy.
Totally worth it, though. I would go again - if I do go to Amsterdam again, I will go again. ... Though for now I can sift through the museum's
online collection whenever I feel the need. :D Though there are a few that aren't listed in there, I think.
It was really interesting to see so many of his styles gathered together in one place. I mean, he had quite a range... There's a huge difference between something like
Basket of Apples and
The Bedroom and then we have stuff like
Bridge in the Rain and
Garden With Courting Couples and of course there's a hundred looks in between all that. (Sidenote - depending on screen size, using the zoom-out function on the museum site's display might be necessary).
Not that such a wide range isn't usual for artists, but I don't usually see something like that gathered all together in one building. The contrasts become really interesting and obvious then.
The museum also has work by some of van Gogh's contemporaries (IE Gaugin) and it was cool to look at those and contrast them to the looks that van Gogh was going for.
I'm a walking cliche; my favourite van Gogh painting is Starry Night. But that one isn't held in this museum, of course. So, of the ones that I did see (many of which were new to me)... It's hard to pick just one. I really liked the Portrait of
Léonie Rose Charbuy-Davy; the colour details and the textures in the paint are really interesting when you see it in person and up-close. And then speaking of portraits, the
Self Portrait With Grey Felt Hat. I have no idea what this technique is called, but I love it.
And I really, really love the way he drew/painted trees... Especially in stuff like
The Kingfisher, that sort of stark and knotty look, it's really cool. He's even got that gnarled and knotty look in less bleak-looking stuff, like
The White Orchard and
Almond Blossom - and that latter one, I love it. I used to feel really "meh" about it, when I saw it in books it didn't really leave much of an impression. It's one of those paintings that is a lot more beautiful in person.
Another one that I really liked was
Avenue of Poplars in Autumn. It's a little bit different from a lot of his other work, I think, just in terms of the composition - most of the stuff that I saw there wasn't so... vertical, at least not the landscapes.
OH and another cool thing - relating more to technique than anything - there was a display showing how he often used a perspective frame to get things right, even on subjects that wouldn't necessarily call for it (like some still-lifes), and how he'd actually draw the frame's guidelines onto the canvas - apparently doing that was a little bit unusual. Regardless, it was cool to see the imaging of the pencil underneath the paint, I can't quite remember what kind of technology they use to get that but man, is it ever cool.
It was also really interesting to see that van Gogh painting that was confirmed as genuine in 2013,
Sunset at Montmajor... I couldn't find it on the website, but anyway. It's gorgeous in person; uses that kind of dotted/separated colours technique that I love. Fascinating that it took so long to confirm it as real; I wonder if there will be any more future "new" discoveries... I mean, this one is probably just lucky, but you never know, right?
I know, I know, I'm gushing. But... van Gogh is a painter that I've loved since I was a kid, and in some ways it meant a lot to me to be able to go and see his work in person. And it kind of made me want to take up art again. ... I remember back when I drew a lot, someone criticized the way I tended to use bright colours in my work. "Who do you think you are, Vincent van Gogh?" And I definitely wasn't trying to emulate his work or anything, but looking back at the kind of stuff I drew, and the kind of colours that he uses in his paintings, I think in some ways we had similar tastes when it comes to stuff like colour palettes.
Anyway. I'm... thinking of taking up art again. I'd like to paint, but I can't, because there is no way I can do that and hide it. Part of the reason I never really took to painting was because I have to do it outside my room, in the kitchen, because of the water and the mess. And I'd always get criticized for "wasting canvass" on bad paintings, as if you don't get better at art by doing it, you have to put everything away and wait for the day when you'll magically have the skill to paint something and have it look good. So. No. I can't do that. But I could draw, maybe. I have a lot of scrap paper and blank sketchbooks that I could use.
Probably wouldn't try drawing people. I find it's just an exercise in frustration. But still lifes and plants and things like that... that might be all right. But I'll have to see.
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Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.