Pinnable

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam houses the world’s largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh: more than 200 paintings & 700 drawings. The basis for the collection is Van Gogh’s legacy of unsold works — he sold only a handful of pictures during his lifetime — which were on display at the Stedelijk Museum from 1930 until 1973. In 1973 the Van Gogh Museum opened its doors in the current building designed by architect Gerrit Rietveld, which was expanded by Kisho Kurokawa in 1999. The Van Gogh Museum is one the most exciting art museums in the Netherlands, and its popularity is reflected in the high volume of visitors. Its popularity is reflected in the length of the queue at the box office; therefore it is advisable to buy your tickets online in advance.

The first time I visited the Van Gogh Museum, I was completely struck by Landscape at Twilight, shown above, which at the time was prominently displayed together with Wheatfield under Thunderclouds and Wheatfield with Crows. It is still my favourite Van Gogh painting. Our children prefer The Yellow House because of the steam train passing the bridge. Talking about highlights, the artist himself liked The Harvest best, at least until 1888, as he expressed in a letter to his brother Theo in June of that year (‘La dernière toile tue absolument tout le reste’).

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