Van Gogh: Up Close @ National Gallery of Canada 

 

My first outing last Sunday without the baby (that's why I had no time for posting lately!) led me to the lecture by Anabelle Kienle Poňka, co-curator of the exhibition Van Gogh: Up Close at the National Gallery of Canada (NGC). She gave a very interesting insight in the concept of that summer exhibit at the NGC. It indeed follows an unique approach in showing Van Gogh's distinct gaze on nature, demonstrated in some of his famous still life and landscape paintings now at view at the NGC.

Exhibition booklet of the exhibit, copyright by the NGC

This exhibition explores – like Anabelle pointed out - Van Gogh’s period in France from 1886 to 1890; actually the last four years of his life. In this late period he represented the world around him in paintings which experiment with the depth of field and focus. Impressed by the works of the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionist during his stay in Paris from 1886 to 1888, he modernized his brush stroke and choose lighter colours. Further, he created compositions that draw us 'up close' into the paintings; like placing the horizon line near the top of the painting, zooming in, focus on details, and strong diagonals. One of the main works in the exhibition is the 'Iris' painting of the NGC collection (1890) in which he shows his fascination for this flower that he came across during his time in Arles (he stayed there from 1888 to 1889).

Exhibition booklet of the exhibit and ticket, copyright by the NGC

This is the first major Van Gogh exhibition in Canada in over 25 years. It brings together more than 40 of Van Gogh’s paintings from private and public collections around the world, as well as a selection of Japanese woodblock prints (the artist was fascinated by them and collected them), nineteenth-century photographs, and works on paper from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It is organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the NGC is the only Canadian venue for this unique exhibition, so take your chance to see it until September 3rd!

NGC Exhibition catalogue; Comparison Cezanne and Van Gogh. Also very enlightening: the article by Ulrich Pohlmann about Van Gogh and photography and the artist's visual memory.

Facts:

Van Gogh: Up Close

25 May 2012 - 03 Sep 2012

National Gallery of Canada

http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/exhibitions/current/details/van-gogh-up-close-70