Last week I found myself with an hour to spare before my next appointment. A café for a non-coffee drinker held little appeal, but my current, slightly emotional (please note drastic under-exaggeration) state did not lend itself to sitting conspicuously alone. Stood unprotected against the pouring rain with an increasing pile of cigarettes butts accumulating at my inappropriately Stella McCartney-clad feet, I was craving a sanctuary. Through the suited purposeful legs I looked up and saw a poster for the Van Gogh exhibition currently showing at the Royal Academy of Arts.
If asked to make a trip especially, and to spend twelve pounds which really should have been going towards a new umbrella (but probably would have in reality gone towards a lace bodysuit which ‘I couldn’t live without’), I would have said No. Van Gogh’s landscapes, peasants and hay stacks, potato peeling, sowing and reaping have always seemed too far removed from ‘real’ life in London. In his portraits I have always recognised the startling use of colour and the resulting emotional impact. But still, probably thanks to a love of German Expressionism, it was never on the same level a Max Beckmann, Otto Dix or George Grosz could produce. But, with the Academy conveniently located just two minutes away, and my chicly-starched blazer balanced on a rain-damage knife edge, with reluctance I joined the queue. Five minutes later, where signs all around declared a two hour wait, I was in.
The collection is the largest of Van Gogh’s work to be shown in London for 40 years. It comprises 65 canvases, 30 drawings and 40 original letters, mostly written to his brother Theo. The aim of the exhibition was to bring together, in as many cases as possible, the relevant letter, sketch and final painting, whereby Van Gogh’s voice almost talks you through the works. These letters, which really make the exhibition, reveal a deeply personal insight into his intimate, swirling thoughts. You are privy to surging highs and lows of emotions, which are expressed in colour and movement.
His subject matters may be humble, but he treats and reveres them as the most precious things on earth. Van Gogh shows us that the beauty in life is in the ordinary and it’s everywhere. Before, I only saw potatoes.
I walked out of the exhibition with a new optimism. If you don’t see this exhibition you might miss something that can change how you look at the world and the people in it.
If asked to make a trip especially, and to spend twelve pounds which really should have been going towards a new umbrella (but probably would have in reality gone towards a lace bodysuit which ‘I couldn’t live without’), I would have said No. Van Gogh’s landscapes, peasants and hay stacks, potato peeling, sowing and reaping have always seemed too far removed from ‘real’ life in London. In his portraits I have always recognised the startling use of colour and the resulting emotional impact. But still, probably thanks to a love of German Expressionism, it was never on the same level a Max Beckmann, Otto Dix or George Grosz could produce. But, with the Academy conveniently located just two minutes away, and my chicly-starched blazer balanced on a rain-damage knife edge, with reluctance I joined the queue. Five minutes later, where signs all around declared a two hour wait, I was in.
The collection is the largest of Van Gogh’s work to be shown in London for 40 years. It comprises 65 canvases, 30 drawings and 40 original letters, mostly written to his brother Theo. The aim of the exhibition was to bring together, in as many cases as possible, the relevant letter, sketch and final painting, whereby Van Gogh’s voice almost talks you through the works. These letters, which really make the exhibition, reveal a deeply personal insight into his intimate, swirling thoughts. You are privy to surging highs and lows of emotions, which are expressed in colour and movement.
His subject matters may be humble, but he treats and reveres them as the most precious things on earth. Van Gogh shows us that the beauty in life is in the ordinary and it’s everywhere. Before, I only saw potatoes.
I walked out of the exhibition with a new optimism. If you don’t see this exhibition you might miss something that can change how you look at the world and the people in it.
The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, is now showing at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/. To book exhibition tickets telephone 0844 209 1919 or tickets are available at the Royal Academy Ticket Office on the day of your visit. Entry £12
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