Van Gogh at the Philadelphia Art Museum
“Rare Glimpse of the Artist’s Passion for Nature”
Van Gogh Up Close opens Feb. 1 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). This collection of 46 paintings draws the viewer into the famous painter’s intimate view of nature.
In these works, Van Gogh paints landscapes and still life images in a way no artist had before him. He’s looking at scale and unusual angles. Fruit is perched on the edge of the canvas, he’s painting objects from above or providing a micro-zoom on a tree trunk, for example.
Plagued with anxiety and mental illness, he found solace in nature. Van Gogh wrote his sister in 1889, “I…am always obliged to go and gaze at a blade of grass, a pine-tree branch, an ear of wheat, to calm myself.”
No one had painted this way before.
These paintings show “a deliberate focus on nature…such as cut off tree trunks, examining the grass at his feet…the immediacy of nature.” says Jennifer Thompson, the Associate Curator in European Painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Since many of these paintings are in private collections, it’s a rare opportunity to see them. Unlike many high profile exhibitions, this one won’t be traveling the country. Due to the intricacies of loan negotiations, Philadelphia and Ottawa, Canada are the only two cities fortunate enough to enjoy the rare treat of this view of van Gogh’s work.
Cornelia Homburg, an independent art historian and curator, came to the PMA and the National Gallery of Art in Ottawa with her idea for this extraordinary collection in 2008. The two institutions worked with her as they planned the show.
This is the first exhibition to explore the radical changes to Van Gogh’s painting style and methods in the last years of his life. The signature layers of paint and heavy brushstrokes are still there but his subject matter and perspective is so different from his earlier works.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is thrilled to have the Van Gogh Up Close exhibition, considering that it won’t be seen anywhere else in the United States. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime chance to witness greatness and beauty all in one place.
Special Offer
Get a discount package if you buy tickets to both the Van Gogh Exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Flower Show. Check out the packages here. ~ Click Here ~ (Scroll down to the bottom)
Location
Philadelphia Museum of Art
2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Dates
February 1, 2012 – May 6th, 2012
Hours
Mondays | Closed
Tuesday – Thursday | 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Fridays | 11:00 am – 8:45 pm
Saturdays & Sundays | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Phone
(215) 235-SHOW(7469)
Web Site
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