Amsterdam - Van Gogh & Rembrandt

I'd completely forgotten that Van Gogh and Rembrandt were both Dutch until my host reminded me. Museums for both are next to each other, but of course have touristy entrance fees so I opted to go to Rembrandt's house instead. I only wanted to see Rembrandt's masterpiece 'The Night Watch' so it wasn't worth the entrance fee to me.

'The Night Watch' painting is famous for three things:
1. its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm (11.91 ft × 14.34 ft)),
2. the dramatic use of light and shadow (tenebrism)
3. the perception of motion in what would have traditionally been a static military group portrait.

I was surprised that Rembrandt's house was so close to city center and accessible. He lived and worked in the house between 1639 and 1656, and lived there until he went bankrupt in 1656, when all his belongings went on auction. The auction list enabled the reconstructions of all his belongings which are also on display in the house.

Van Gogh musem is behind the touristy landmark 'I amsterdam' sign so of course I didn't want any part of that. I did learn a little about Van Gogh. Even though he was known for cutting off his ear, he didn't cut his entire ear off - only a small part of his left ear because he suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions which eventually led to his suicide.

He was also close friends with another genius painter, Gauguin, but their friendship ended after Van Gogh severed part of his own left ear.

The most shocking to me was that Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous AFTER his suicide, and basically known as a misunderstood genius. He gained popularity in the early 20th century as parts of his painting style were incorporated by Expressionists. He attained widespread critical, commercial and popular success decades later, and is remembered as an important but tragic painter, whose troubled personality is typical of the tortured artist.

Van Gogh's most famous works are...

1. The Starry Night - Year: 1889

Although painted from memory, this masterpiece depicts the view outside Van Gogh’s sanitarium room window at Saint-Remy-de-Provence in France. It shows the artist’s interest in astronomy and a study made by the Griffith Park Observatory (in Los Angeles) demonstrated that Vincent represented the Moon, Venus, and several stars in the exact position they occupied that clear night. The painting is considered among the greatest works in western art and is definitely the most famous work of Vincent Van Gogh.

2. Sunflowers - Year: 1888

His series of paintings on ‘sunflowers’ rank among the most famous still life paintings ever created. The paintings are well known for depicting the natural beauty of the flowers and for their vibrant colors. This painting titled 'Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers' crushed the auction record for a painting when it was sold to a Japanese investor for almost $40 million in March 1987. The record was broken two years later by Van Gogh’s Irises.

3. Irises - Year: 1889

Among Van Gogh’s most celebrated works are his paintings and prints of Irises and this painting is the most famous among them. Vincent painted it in the year before his death and referred to as the “the lightning conductor for my illness” as he felt his work was his hope against becoming insane. In September 1987, Irises was sold for $53.9 million making it the most expensive painting ever sold. Its record stood for about two and a half years and as of today it ranks 15 in the list of most expensive paintings ever sold if you adjust for inflation.

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