Van Gogh Museum to end 50th anniversary with "Van Gogh along the Seine"

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam concludes its anniversary year with the exhibition "Van Gogh along the Seine," which opens on Friday. On display are works by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) that he created along the Seine river near Asnières, a suburb northwest of Paris.

The exhibition also features works by other painters who drew inspiration from the surroundings of Asnières, such as Paul Signac, Georges Seurat, Emile Bernard, and Charles Angrand. In total, 75 paintings from these five artists will be showcased.

During the two years Van Gogh lived in Paris, he spent three months in 1887 working around Asnières, producing about forty paintings. Among these, he created three triptychs, consisting of nine paintings in total. For the exhibition, seven of these nine paintings have been brought together for the first time. The Clichy triptych, known for its fresh green hues, will be displayed in its entirety. However, the other two triptychs, the sketched Grande Jatte and the Asnières with depicted bridges, boats, and restaurants, each lack one painting.

Emilie Gordenker, the director of the Van Gogh Museum, stated, "As the international center of expertise on Van Gogh, we are constantly seeking new insights into the artist. This is the first time that the works Van Gogh painted in Asnières have been examined as a group, and have been compared with the work of four contemporaries who painted in the same area." She added that the exhibition is also "a rare opportunity to see impressive loans from private collections that are normally hidden from view."

In total, 23 works by Van Gogh will be on display. This includes "Banks of the Seine with the Pont de Clichy" (1887), which is part of a private collection and has never been shown in the Netherlands. Another highlight, "Bank of the Seine with Boats" (1887), will be accessible to the public for the first time since 1984.

"Van Gogh along the Seine" will be on view from this Friday until January 14, 2024. For this exhibition, the Van Gogh Museum collaborated with the Art Institute of Chicago.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Van Gogh Museum. To celebrate, the museum organized three exhibitions dedicated to the artist. There were previously exhibitions focusing on the painter's final years and a tribute to his family. In June, the museum also held a birthday celebration for its 50th anniversary on Museumplein.