Van Gogh comes to the Royal Academy!
Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most enigmatic, artist of the 19th Century. A ground breaking exhibition now on at the Royal Academy of Arts reveals not just the magnificent paintings but the man himself.
As well as being a prolific artist Van Gogh was also a voracious letter writer and the Royal Academy exhibition, the first Van Gogh exhibition in London for forty years, showcases not only around one hundred of his drawings and paintings but also thirty five original hand-written letters.
It is these letters that give us a fascinating insight into the character of the great man himself. It is easy to think of Van Gogh as the stereotypical tortured artist, as a caricature with his famous red beard and a bandage where his ear used to be. The letters, however, reveal the hidden side of his character: a thoughtful, sensitive man, battling poverty, apathy and his inner demons.
The main recipients of his letters are his beloved brother Theo and his fellow artist Paul Gaugin, who famously lived with Van Gogh in The Yellow House in Arles, Southern France. The letters reveal the strength of their friendship and respect for each other until Van Gogh’s increasingly volatile behaviour, and the infamous slicing of his ear, caused Gaugin to flee.
The pictures themselves, consisting of oil paintings and watercolours as well as intricate pen and ink drawings, are as spectacular as you would expect and show the brilliance and luminosity that took impressionism to new levels. The letters too are often illustrated giving a glimpse into his mind at the time that the letters were written as well as showing initial sketches of some of his most famous paintings.
This spectacular and moving exhibition is a must-see for all lovers of Van Gogh in particular, and art in general, and gives a deeper insight into this flawed, complex genius.