Imagine Van Gogh is an art exhibition showcasing Starry Night, Sunflowers and images from 200 other works by the famous Dutch artist projected on giant screens.
This exhibition visited Vancouver in 2021. If you want to see something similar but unrelated in 2023, be sure to check out Beyond Van Gogh when it’s in town (starting on February 1st).
Paintings You’ll See at Imagine Van Gogh
The exhibition features images of drawings and paintings where attendees are surrounded by Vincent Van Gogh’s colours, broad brush strokes and Post-Impressionist style. It’s a popular and impressive event.
At the exhibition people get to see Van Gogh’s art up close, and they learn about the personal history of the great master.
This article briefly describes some of Van Gogh’s most famous art. After reading it, you’ll know the names of some of his pieces and a little bit about them. The article is for newbies to the Dutch master, to help them recognize and appreciate what they’ll see at Imagine Van Gogh.
We highly recommend the exhibition. It’s beautiful, stunning, moving and very impressive! It has been getting amazing reviews!
To learn more about the exhibition see our article about Imagine Van Gogh or visit the official Imagine Van Gogh website.
8 Paintings You’ll See at Imagine Van Gogh
Below are just a few of the many paintings you can expect to see at the art exhibition when it’s in town. By familiarizing yourself with the following works, and learning their names, you’ll find recognizing pieces at the exhibition to be extra enjoyable and rewarding.
Starry Night (1889)
Starry Night is one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings. It’s also one of the most striking scenes at Imagine Van Gogh. How they project the images on the floor without causing shadows everywhere is itself something to marvel!
Van Gogh painted Starry Night while a patient in an asylum. You’ll learn about that part of his life when you visit the exhibition. The artist’s bold use of colour and strong brush strokes are clearly evident in this piece.
One of the most famous paintings in the world, Starry Night is part of the permanent collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
Starry Night Over the Rhône (1888)
Similar to Starry Night, Starry Night Over the Rhône features dark bold blue colours. It can be found at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The scene is of the Rhône River at night in Arles France. The oil painting is 72 cm by 92 cm (or about 2.5 by 3 feet) in size.
Starry Night and Starry Night Over the Rhône are each worth over $100 million.
For tickets and full details, see the official Imagine Van Gogh website.
Seascape at Saintes-Maries (1888)
Van Gogh painted a number of scenes of boats and the sea. The Sea at Saintes-Maries is one of them. Seascape at Saintes-Maries is another. They are two different paintings, although sometimes their names are used interchangeably.
The artist actually produced a number of paintings while visiting this French village on the Mediterranean Sea. The painting in the images below can be found at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.
Harvest in Provence (1888)
Harvest in Provence is another painting that Van Gogh did near Arles, France, in 1888. It’s the painting on the left side in the photo below. The actual piece is 50 cm by 60 cm in size (so close to 2 feet by 2 feet and almost square in dimensions, but not quite). It’s part of the collection of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Girl in White (1890)
Girl in White was one of Van Gogh’s last paintings. It’s one of two paintings of the same woman. The other is the Peasant Woman Against Wheat Background.
The original painting featured in the image below is about 67 cm by 46 cm in size. Its home is the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers is one of two series of paintings by Van Gogh. In total, there are eleven paintings. The one at the National Gallery in London, England, is 73 cm by 92 cm in size.
The artist painted the first series, where the flowers are on the ground, in Paris in 1887. He painted the more famous second series, where the sunflowers are in a vase, in Arles, France, in 1888.
Various original versions of Sunflowers exist. Some are owned by private collectors. Some are in major museums.
Van Gogh’s Still Life: Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers sold for $39.85 million (US) in 1987 to an anonymous Japanese buyer. At the time it was the highest price ever paid at an art auction.
The Bedroom in Arles
The images in the photo below are of The Bedroom. It is of a room in what has become known as the “Yellow House” where Van Gogh stayed for a period of time. Similar to some of the artist’s other works, there is more than one version of the same scene. The first was painted in 1888. Van Gogh did another two in 1889.
This painting was influenced by Van Gogh’s interest in Japanese prints. Of note, there are no shadows in the picture. The angles, colours and distorted perspectives in the scene are also interesting.
One of the three paintings of The Bedroom is on loan to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Another belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago. The third is at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
The photo below shows a 360-degree view of the projected images of The Bedroom at Imagine Van Gogh. If you swipe the photo from side to side with your finger or mouse (depending on your device), you can see all around the room in 360 degrees. If reading this article on a desktop device, if you click the (-) icon, you can also zoom out and see even more of the scene.
The Yellow House (1888)
The Yellow House, also known as The Street, is a painting of a house that Van Gogh rented in Arles in the south of France. It’s the building with the green shutters. Van Gogh sketched the house and painted it with oil. He also painted the same scene once in watercolours. As you can see, the style of this painting is very different from that of The Bedroom.
Interestingly, the house was damaged in a bombing raid during the Second World War.
The original oil on canvas belongs to the Vincent van Gogh Foundation and can be found at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Other Information
The displays at Imagine Van Gogh are massive, and very impressive. Seeing the 200 or so works of the artist and being surrounded by them on the walls is a memorable way of experiencing the art of Van Gogh. We’ll remember our experience at the Vancouver Convention Centre for a long time and highly recommend checking it out when possible.
To learn more about the exhibition see our article about Imagine Van Gogh in Vancouver or visit the official Imagine Van Gogh website.
For photos and details about other works by the great Dutch painter, see the website vincentvangogh.org.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Review About Imagine Van Gogh
- Vancouver Art Gallery
- Bill Reid Gallery
- History and Culture in Vancouver
- Vancouver Rainy Day Activities
- What’s Open in COVID-19 Vancouver
