Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Me and Van Gogh




Not sure how many 12 year olds have a Bucket List, but when I was 12 years old, with instruction from an artistic neighbor, I did my first painting with a palette knife, after he taught me all about Vincent Van Gogh. I was so inspired! Ever since then, it has been on my Bucket List to see his work in person. Well, it finally happened on our trip to Amsterdam.


Our first stop was the Rijksmuseum, a grand museum holding a cadre of art by the masters of the Renaissance, including Rembrandt, Degas and Vermeer. Robert's favorite was Rembrandt's "The Night Watch", shown here, larger than life...


Down the street was the Van Gogh museum. To me it was like walking into a candy store. I've seen many original Van Goghs before, but never this amount in one place. It was a homage to the master of color and texture, where paint was applied like cake frosting of warm yellows, bright burnt siennas and rich blues. 

Sunflowers

Wheat Field Under Threatening Skies
To see the paintings I've only seen in books seemed like a dream. I easily could have spent a week in the museum. The most memorable for me were the Sunflowers, his self-portrait, and the highlight, Van Gogh's bedroom. When you see the original, you finally get to see the real size and scale of a painting. You see it by itself on a wall, beautifully lit, allowing you to stand back and soak it in. Magical.

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