125 Years of Van Gogh History

February 13, 2015

2015 marks the 125th anniversary of world-famous artist Vincent Van Gogh’s death.  He hardly sold anything in his life, yet today, his life has become the stuff of legend and his works can be admired all over the world. To commemorate this, his life will be honoured with high-profile exhibitions and festivities in Holland (where he was born and raised), as well as in Belgium and France.

Museums, heritage sites and cultural events will be hosting special exhibitions about his life and work for all who want to get to know the painter and his work more closely.

Check out the highlights across Holland:

Van Gogh Museum
Visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to view the world’s largest collection of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, drawings and letters.  It showcases not only his work but the story of his life and his development into one of the greatest artists of all time.  You will truly step into Van Gogh’s life, discovering his ideas behind his art, his personal ambitions, his emotions, the myths surrounding him and his influence that continues to this very day.

Brabant Province
Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpieces may be scattered all over the world, but his roots undeniably lie in Brabant, the largest southern province in Holland. He was born and raised here and took local farmworkers as his inspiration and subject.  It is where he created his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters. Today you can still visit unique locations in Brabant that played a key part in his work and life, from the house in Zundert in which he was born and the classroom in which he took he first drawing classes, to the places he immortalised in his paintings and drawings.  The cities of Brabant are approximately 1.5 hours from Amsterdam by train.

Our top picks:

  • Zundert
  • Visit the Vincent van Gogh Huis and learn about his early years
  • Tilburg
  • Visit Vincents Tekenlokaal (art room) and discover where he had his first drawing lessons
  • Make your own drawings in the super-modern digital drawing classroom
  • Nuenen
    • Walk or cycle to 21 locations that played a part in Van Gogh’s life at the Van Gogh Village Nuenen
    • Etten-Leur
    • Visit the exhibition at the church in which Van Gogh’s father preached and learn more about Vincent’s early period as an artist in Etten-Leur’s-Hertogenbosch
    • Visit the Vincent van Gogh pavillion and examine his ‘Brabant work’ and life

Cycle Routes inspired by Van Gogh
Do as the locals do and hop on a bike.  The Van Gogh cycle route has been created to take you through the Brabant province of Holland, visiting the places that shaped Van Gogh as an artist and the many beautiful sites he loved to portray. All you need to do is follow the Van Gogh signs!  The route is 335km long and it connects the 5 Van Gogh heritage sites.  If that’s too much for you, you can always pick one of the shorter routes.

If you’d like to find out more about the commemorative events throughout Holland in 2015, take a look at Visit Holland’s Van Gogh page.

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