Van Gogh

Hello, this is Eli in Europe.

On Tuesday, before insane Amsterdam new years, we visited the Van Gogh musuem.

After a short tram ride we arrived at the Van Gogh musuem. Suprisingly, the Dutch pronounce van Gogh like "van Hachhhh." (Make a gutteral sound at the end) Despite the pretentiousness of this pronunciation, the van Gogh museum was quite enjoyable.

When we entered the museum, we watched a film that described the life if Vincent van Gogh. In case anyone is unfamiliar with the story, here is a very condensed version of it:

Vincent van Gogh was an aspiring artist. His brother Theo encouraged him to paint in different styles. Vincent and Theo have a strong connection and exchange over 800 letters during their lives. Unfortunately, van Gogh only sells one painting in his life, The Red Vineyard. Later, van Gogh gets into a confrontation with another artist, and decides to go to a mental hospital. While there, van Gogh's style changes. After leaving the hospital, he lives for four months before fatally shooting himself in a field.
Note: This version is far from complete. For details on van Gogh's life, click here.

After the depressing video, we explored the museum from van Gogh's first drawings to his last unfinished painting.

In the gift shop, one of van Gogh's paintings was on a backpack, a tote bag, and an iPad case. I wonder how van Gogh would've reacted if he had seen this. Would he be elated because his artwork is world renowned? Or would he be disappointed because his image has been made into a brand, and he never wanted that?
I was perplexed by this question, while standing on the line to buy my Vincent van Gogh postcard and notebook. Oh, the irony. 

It was only 6:00, but after we left the van Gogh museum, we decided to return to our hotel. The new years festivities start as soon as the sun sets in Amsterdam.
For more details on New Years, you can see the previous two posts.