Art is one of those things that a lot of people either really love or don't particularly care about. Most of the time, honestly, I'm one of those people who doesn't particularly care about visual art-- sure, it's nice to look at, and it can be fun to try to make it, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it or trying to create any myself. But none of this applies to the works of Vincent van Gogh, aka, the love of my life.
I've been fairly obsessed with van Gogh for a long time. Obviously, he's a very relevant artist, and he's one of those people I've known about all my life, like Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci, and not somebody I found out about later, like Claude Monet or Wassily Kandinsky, but this doesn't change the fact that I am a little too obsessed with him. His style is by far my favorite, and he has so many amazing paintings, and that's all great, but it's honestly his life story that gets to me the most.
Van Gogh's story is a tragic one, and much too short. He was born in 1853 in the Netherlands, and moved around a lot over his life before finally settling in his famous "Yellow House," where he painted his well-known bedroom paintings. Most of what we know about Vincent comes from his letters to his brother, Theo, who he was very close to. It's known that van Gogh never felt confident about his art or as if it was appreciated at all, and he didn't become famous until after his death, so he never knew how much his art would mean to other people. Van Gogh suffered from mental illness, and after a breakdown that left him cutting off part of his ear, he was hospitalized and later committed to an asylum in France. Shortly after his release, van Gogh died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 37.
The beauty of his works combined with the tragedy of his life make van Gogh an artist many people truly care about and appreciate on a different level than others. His paintings are incredibly famous and loved by many-- especially myself. Among his most well-known paintings are "The Bedroom." Many people are familiar with this scene-- the blue walls, wood floors, simple bed and chairs-- but not as many people are aware that this is not just one painting. Over his career, Vincent painted three bedroom paintings, all slightly different.
His first bedroom painting lives at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Holland. The second painting belongs to The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Van Gogh's third and final bedroom painting can typically be found on display at the Musée D'Orsay in Paris. All three paintings belong to their respective museum's permanent collection. Currently, though, two of them cannot be found at their home museum, because for a limited time, all three have come to Chicago.
This exhibition, which opened in February and runs through May 10, 2016, puts all three bedroom paintings on display side-by-side, showcasing their similarities and differences. The exhibit also features a life-size bedroom, as well as a video comparing specific elements of all three paintings in close detail. It takes you through a timeline of the artist's life, and then room by room, leads you through the places van Gogh lived until finally reaching his house at Arles, where his famous bedroom existed. Elements of the exhibit give extra insight into the life of van Gogh, and many works are on display including a self portrait, two chair paintings, and a page of a letter to his brother.
Although crowded-- the museum was packed with people excited to see all three Bedroom paintings side by side --and $5 extra above standard Art Institute admission, the van Gogh Bedrooms exhibit was, by far, worth it to see. For me, a van Gogh fangirl with a bucket list including "see all three Bedroom paintings" (by the way, I had two checked off prior to this), this was honestly one of the coolest things I've done. The paintings are beautiful and the insight on the life of Vincent is incredible. I would highly recommend making it to the Art Institute of Chicago by May 10 if you, like me, are obsessed with Vincent van Gogh.
Plus, you can check out their permanent collection while you're there as well, which also includes plenty of works by Vincent.
