As an artist Vincent van Gogh’s was going through a huge creative process during his final months as he was struggling with mental health issues. That intense period of creativity is being examined in a new exhibition at Paris’ renowned Musée d’Orsay.
An exhibition at the famous Musée d’Orsay in Paris is currently showcasing the intense period of creativity of Vincent Van Gogh. The museum, which houses the world’s richest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art, has curated around 40 of Van Gogh’s paintings along with 20 drawings from his two months spent in Auvers-sur-Oise. The exhibition also features a unique virtual reality experience, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the paintings of the Dutch painter.
After staying in a psychiatric hospital for a year, Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise. The picturesque landscapes of the village located north of Paris also inspired other artists such as Paul Cézanne and Camille Pissarro. Van Gogh was recommended to a specialist in depression, Doctor Paul Gachet, who became his patient. Following his doctor’s advice, Van Gogh became more productive and focused on his work, trying to avoid dwelling on his poor mental health. He produced paintings at an incredible rate of more than one a day – 74 in all, among them some of his masterpieces, as well as more than 50 drawings.
Showing painter’s struggle
Musee D’Orsay’s President Christophe Leribault explains “what we’re really showing is his works and the way in which he really fought to the end to paint exceptional things.”
The exhibits include 11 that Van Gogh painted on unusual elongated canvases, experimenting to stunning effect. Their dimensions – 1 metre wide, 50 centimetres tall – give the paintings a dramatic wide-screen, panorama look.
Loaned from eight museums and collections, it is the first time that the 11 have been shown together. The exhibition also offers an innovative and immersive virtual reality experience titled “Van Gogh’s Palette”.
“So you put on a headset and travel through the works of Vincent van Gogh. In fact, you travel through his palette. You really get into his colours. It’s very poetic, and it’s also historically documented, meaning that the beautiful story that’s told has its source in scientifically valid historical data,” explains Wouter van der Veen, a specialist of Vincent van Gogh who worked on the project.
The 10 minute experience begins in Doctor Gachet’s drawing room in Auvers-sur-Oise, where visitors discover Van Gogh’s portrait of Marguerite Gachet and an artist’s palette.
Four key Van Gogh paintings from the Auvers-sur-Oise period can be explored. The Van Gogh exhibit at the Musee D’Orsay will run until 4 February 2024.
