Lacking motivation? 📝 ‘Always continue walking a lot and loving nature, for that’s the real way to learn to understand art better and better. Painters understand nature and love it, and teach us to see’. ✍️ to Theo (1874).
‘Mountains at Saint-Rémy’, 1889. © Guggenheim Museum

Happy Mother’s Day! 💗 Vincent painted this portrait of his mother, based on a photo his sister sent him. He wanted to capture her in harmonious colours, the way he remembered her.
‘Portrait of the Artist’s Mother’ © Norton Simon Museum

🌊 Van Gogh sought a really ‘blue sea’ and ‘blue sky’ at the French coast. He travelled from Arles to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a fishing village on the Mediterranean. He observed that the sea had ‘a colour like mackerel', its colours continually changing.

Van Gogh found beauty in everyday life. Commissioned to draw views of The Hague (NL) by his uncle, he chose this humble view from his window. Do you see the little scratched tree detail? (2) Vincent added them with his pen. 🖋️
🖼️ © Kröller Müller Museum

Vincent wrote to Theo 📝 ‘In my view I’m often very rich, not in money, but rich [...] because I’ve found my work — have something which I live for heart and soul and which gives inspiration and meaning to life.’

🖼️ © Detroit Institute of Arts

🇲🇫 Vincent revisited Montmartre in Paris at the age of 32. His first visit was when he was 20, when he worked at an art dealership. Vincent’s artist friends preferred painting urban scenes, but Vincent remained devoted to rural landscapes like the Moulin de Galette district.

Art supplies 🎨🖌️🖼️ Vincent's go-to paint store in Paris was Père Tanguy's. Tanguy regularly showcased Vincent's paintings in his shop window and even swapped supplies for artworks. Fun fact: Père Tanguy, always portrayed in his apron, filled the paint tubes himself.

🐟 During his time in The Hague, Van Gogh was fascinated by a fish drying and smoking shop. Despite being made during his French period, this work is painted with mostly muted tones. However, he used more vibrant yellow and blue for the fish and drapery. What stands out to you?

When Vincent’s room in Hotel-Restaurant Carrel (Arles, FR) became too small for his paintings and art supplies, he sought a place of his own. He found 'The Yellow House', which had beautiful views of public gardens. The rising sun bathed everything in ‘pale sulphur yellow’.

Matthew Wong and Van Gogh leave tangible traces in their art, with bold, expressive brushstrokes revealing their inner selves. Wong’s lonely figures echo his melancholy, deepening the connection. Explore Wong’s art in the exhibition ‘Painting as a Last Resort’, until 1 Sept.

👨‍🎨 Van Gogh's irises, each unique, showcase his mastery of form and movement. Theo recognised the quality of this painting. In September 1889, he wrote to Vincent: ‘[The painting] strikes the eye from afar. It is a beautiful study full of air and life’. ✍️

This scene depicts a public sale. The old tower in Nuenen, Brabant (NL), was being demolished. There was a public sale of scrap materials like woodwork, slates and old iron, including a cross. ‘I’ve finished a watercolour of it’, Vincent wrote to Theo. 🖼️ ‘Sale of Building Scrap’

Sacrifices for the greater good 🌻 Jo Bonger, the wife of Vincent's brother Theo, did just that to contribute to Vincent's fame. She sold one of her two beloved 'Sunflower' paintings to the National Gallery in London to contribute to his international recognition.

Vincent exhibited his friends' art at Grand Bouillon Restaurant du Chalet in Paris. 🍽️However, the exhibition ended abruptly due to customer complaints and the owner's criticism. Vincent swiftly removed the paintings. 👋 😠

Inside the Van Gogh family home 🏡 When Vincent returned to his parent’s house the atmosphere was often tense. Vincent easily took offense at his father's comments. He had the feeling his family consisted mainly of 'people who keep up a position', he wrote. He didn't fit in.

Trying to get a grip on time. ⏱️ ‘Lately I’ve been working a lot and quickly; by doing so I’m trying to express the desperately swift passage of things in modern life’, Vincent wrote to his sister Willemien (1890).

Peek-a-boo! 🔦 UV light: a friend and foe to paintings. Overexposure can cause discolouration, but it can reveal previous restorations. (2) With the support of our partner ASML we can continue extensive research to better understand the condition of Vincent’s artworks.

Matthew Wong’s ‘See You on the Other Side’ depicts a lone figure gazing across a white expanse resembling a frozen lake. Wong’s interest in otherworldly landscapes is evident as he hints at an intention to disappear, offering a glimpse into his mind and perspective on life.

Caution: paint levels reach new heights! 🏔️😉 Van Gogh's abundant use of paint increased after he was inspired by Adolphe Monticelli's vibrant bouquets, crafted with thick paint and bold brushstrokes. This is evident in 'Vase with Chinese Asters and Gladioli', 1886.

✍️ Vincent wrote about the profound impact of big and small emotions on our lives, and how shared experiences bind us together. He said that we are all 'companions in fate in many respects'. Read more here: ow.ly/XFy550R367B