Heads Up. The lead photo on my previous post was inadvertently a head of its time. I was not then aware that the world is trending Van Gogh. Furthermore, I was not consciously anticipating my upcoming Dutch Van Gogh immersion. The choice for my lead image was just a fluke.
The Art Institute of Chicago's re-creation of Vincent van Gogh's "The Bedroom" (1889). now available for rent on Airbnb (image courtesy AIC)
Since the previous post, I happened upon a listing of current tributes to Van Gogh. Check out this article. Apparently it is his 163rd birthday. The commemorative events and activities are a hoot...most not to be taken seriously. But they are a serious reminder that Van Gogh is a mainstay of our cultural awareness.
Terrace of a Cafe at Night (1888) and Sunflowers Gone to Seed (1887)
A few days later I was in the Netherlands, visiting the Kroller-Muller Museum. "The museum boasts 90 Van Gogh paintings." I saw some Art 101 paintings such as Cafe Terrace at Night and many works that were completely new to me. What a treat.
A week later I headed to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. There was a lot to take in, both visually and intellectually. Since, unfortunately, no photos were allowed; the following photos are swiped from the web. At the Van Gogh Museum, I was particularly interested in his portraits.
In 1884-5 Van Gogh painted nearly 100 heads of local people. His goal was to capture a class of folks rather than to render an individual's likeness.
However, the museum shows so many self portraits painted in 1887 that demonstrate an uncanny likeness. Apparently he painted 30 self portraits from 1886-9. The museum notes suggest that he was an accessible subject on which to experiment. He was in search of his style. I have to wonder if he was clinically self absorbed...if that is a diagnosis. In the few years that remained, he did achieve his iconic style even as his mental health declined. Perhaps these self portraits were a heads up.
