Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) is one of the most influential and generally well-known painters. His post-impressionist art pulls you into a world of bright, impactful colours, haunting you for months to come. 

After hearing about the Van Gogh Live exhibition, I craved to explore his art beyond the canvas and experience his creative genius on an entirely different level. I didn't know what to expect, but I hoped to see the intense colours of his canvases, touch the flowers he painted so vividly, smell the fields that inspired him, and hear the birds greeting dawn after his nighttime painting power hour. 

The exhibition is a huge success, with more than 8.5 million visitors in more than 75 cities across five continents; it spreads its message far and wide. However, what it does the best is to bring people closer to fine art. It cleverly engages your art-savvy and not so savvy members of the family in a fun way. It is educational enough yet doesn't force you to tiptoe around and read panel after panel of overwhelming information. 

I would recommend it to anyone genuinely excited by art and those who want a gentle dip in its seas without getting their ankles too wet.

However, I believe that there is much more to be shared, explored and experienced about van Gogh. We know about his life, the struggles and pains he endured to deliver what we cherish on the walls of galleries and private collections these days. 

Only a few know that his sister-in-law made his paintings priceless and famous by strategically selling them to private art collectors and museums after van Gogh and his brother Theo passed away. Jo van Gogh-Bonger was a single mother doing her best to survive and provide for her family. Yet, we must admire her spirit and determination to carry on what Vincent and Theo failed to accomplish. Without her feistiness, we would miss out on his beautiful paintings, sometimes even without our knowledge, making their way into our homes and lives. 

If you wish to learn more about van Gogh but cannot go to see the exhibition, you can easily have your own at-home immersive experience. Tune on to some of the curated playlists from the list below and visit the Van Gogh Museum website, where you can read through a collection of the artist's correspondence with friends and family. 

"It would be wonderful if people joined forces and there was a place where models would rendezvous each day, as at The Graphic in the past. Anyway, be that as it may, let's keep up each other's enthusiasm, and let's encourage each other, as far as we can, to carry on working. Not in the direction of pleasing dealers or the ordinary art lovers but in the direction of manly strength, truth, loyalty, honesty." Vincent van Gogh to Anton van Rappard, The Hague, on or about Wednesday, 21 March 1883

Here is a list of our favourite playlists, podcasts, and short films about van Gogh:

• Podcast:

  • In the Studio | Conserving the works of the Van Gogh Museum 

  • The Daily | The Sunday Read: 'The Woman Who Made van Gogh' 

  • Creative Codex | Vincent van Gogh Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 

  • Art Crime Podcast | Vincent van Gogh, Going, Gone! 

  • The Forum | Vincent van Gogh: The struggling artist 

• Soundtrack:

  • Beyond van Gogh | The Immersive Experience 

  • Michele Campana | Van Gogh Alive The Experience

  • withlovefromryane | art history student writing research papers studying in europe getting wine drunk 

• Video

  • Great Art Explained | Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night: Great Art Explained 

  • Vox | Vincent van Gogh's long, miserable road to fame 

  • Van Gogh Museum | David Hockney on Vincent van Gogh 

Until next time,

Fiona