London - Talkingthailand

Van Gogh – Alive!

Two years after I went to see the Van Gogh and Britain exhibition, I ventured back to the capital to attend Van Gogh – Alive!

This was an exhibition like no other and certainly not one I have experienced in the past.

“Prepare to transcend time and space as you accompany Van Gogh on a journey through the Netherlands, Arles, Saint Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise, where he created many of his timeless masterpieces. Set to an evocative classical score, a thrilling display of over 3,000 inspirational images transforms every surface that surrounds you in what has been described as an “unforgettable multi-sensory experience“. At Van Gogh Alive you don’t just look at his paintings, you step inside them and feel their power.” – The website of Van Gogh Alive

The experience has been all over the world and the UK and I went to Kensington Gardens to see it.

So, let’s immerse ourselves in the world of Van Gogh.

A brief interlude in the immersive (and mirrored) sunflower room.

Immersion continues.

This exhibition was fabulous and a different and exciting way to bring art into your world!

Van Gogh Alive continues its tour of the UK in Brighton this month!

Van Gogh and Britain at Tate Britain

On the same day I walked from Millbank to Leicester Square, I attended the Van Gogh Exhibition at Tate Britain.

Taken from the leaflet that I picked up at the gallery – This exhibition is in two parts. The first looks at Van Gogh’s experience in London, the art and literature that caught his attention and its role in his journey as an artist. The second explores the impact of Van Gogh’s art and life on British artists up to the 1950s. The exhibition provides an opportunity to view artworks by Van Gogh afresh, to see British culture through his eyes and to see him through the eyes of British artists he inspired.

There were 9 rooms all dedicated to a specific part of Van Gogh’s life including living in London, his interest in black and white prints, moving to Paris, and continuing to paint throughout his mental illness. It was also interesting to see how his paintings inspired and influenced other painters after his death in 1890.

I hope you enjoy this exhibition as much as I did. (Click the photos to see the full image)

My favourites are Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Starry Night and one of his self-portaits.

And, of course, it’s also good to get sneaky pictures of other people doing the same as me.

What are your favourite Van Gogh paintings?

I think the final word goes to the man himself;

“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” – Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, London 1874.

Millbank to Leicester Square

Back in 2019, on a quest to have days out like I used to, I took a train to London to visit Tate Britain and the Van Gogh Exhibition.

I took a tube from Euston to Pimlico and made my way to Millbank for some river views.

On the opposite side of the road, stands Tate Britain which has shown its art collections to the public since 1897!

Outside the gallery, there are statues from Greek legends, like the ‘Rescue of Andromeda‘ and ‘The Death of Dirce.’

More on the actual Van Gogh exhibition in a future post, but for now, let’s just skip around the back of the gallery to find this statue of Sir John Everett Millais – a wellknown and successful Victorian painter.